Warriors: Red Sky
by Drackenheart
Summary: An original! Redkit is a stray kit taken in by SkyClan. But she finds life isn't as simple as it seems, and the dark shadows the current leader casts will have her overcome her biggest challenge.
1. Prologue

Treestar sat at the entrance to his den, his clanmates busying themselves with the day's work.

"Hey! Treestar!" An apprentice skidded to a halt in front of him. "Firecloud wants to see you!"

"Very well, I'll be right over." He said, striding past the little cat and heading for the medicine den.

"Firecloud?" He poked his head into the den, only spotting the form of Bluestream, who prompty woke up.

"Eh, Firecloud? I reckon she's in the nursery." Bluestream mewed, before thumping her head back down into the nest. Backing out of the den, Treestar headed over to the nursery, his sister meeting him coming out.

"About time." She growled, setting down a bundle of herbs. "She's ready to see you, you've got three."

"That's fantastic!" He meowed excitedly, quickly brushing past Firecloud.

"Hmph, I don't know why you'd want 3 little terrors." She muttered, but Treestar couldn't care to retort.

"How are they?!" Treestar burst into the nursery, earning a hiss from the other queen there, Mistyeye.

"Sorry." He apologized, before turning his attention back to his mate. She purred and looked up.

"They're beautiful." Leafheart said, her eyes shining with love at the three squirming kits.

"Have you named them yet?" Treestar asked, sniffing the sandy-brown tom, who mewled and wriggled closer to her mother's belly.

"I've thought of Birchkit for the little tom, and Oakkit for the other tom. But not this one." She nosed the dark brown tabby kit. Treestar sat down, tilting his head. He thought for a while. "How about... Sprucekit? For her pelt."

"I think it's wonderful. Hello, my children." Leafheart said, before settling down to sleep with them. Treestar stared for a while, his mind only thinking of his family.

"I vow to protect each and every single one of you, to the end. No matter what it takes." He thought, before turning to organized patrols.

"Hey, Treestar." Nighteyes padded over to where the SkyClan leader had just padded out of the nursery. "Up for a patrol?"

"Well, I wanted to spend time with my kits... but perhaps I can." Treestar said tentatively.

"Great, I'll round up Minttail and Brackenfeather, make this a real patrol." Nighteyes meowed. Treestar waited until all three Warriors were with him before setting out into the forest.

"Ugh. Did we really have to go out NOW?" Brackenfeather whined. Nighteyes butted her in the shoulder.

"I don't think you should be complaining right behind the leader anyways." Amusement rising from the group as Brackenfeather scowled. The patrol continued rather smoothly, the cats casually cracking jokes and meowing about clan news. Soon enough, they reached the ThunderClan border. Treestar signaled the patrol to keep an eye out, ThunderClan hadn't been the best of friends lately, and Treestar was "attempting" to keep the peace. The borders were marked, but as the patrol moved out, Brackenfeather let out a yowl.

"Hey, Treestar! Over here!"

Treestar bounded over, Nighteyes and Minttail trailing him.

"What is it? ThunderClan scent? Fox? Squirrel?" He asked, but Brackenfeather had stuck her head into a hole. She reappeared shortly after, a scrap of fur hanging in her jaws.

"It's a kit. Looks about half a moon old, I think." She mumbled around it, the kit squeaked and feebly pawed at her.  
Nighteyes sniffed it, reeling back with a hiss. "ThunderClan scent! But… what's it doing here?" He sat down with a confused look.

"We should probably take it back to its clan." Minttail picked the kit up, but Treestar halted her with his tail.

"Don't." He meowed evenly. "We'll take her in."

"Say what?!" The rest of the patrol meowed in shock.

"Well, they must not want her, to leave her like this." Treestar said. Nighteyes looked at him with a narrowed gaze.

"You have a point there, but you WILL announce her at the next gathering, right?" He said, a growl edging his voice.

"Perhaps, though Leafheart might not want to give her away."

Brackenfeather meowed in disbelief. "You're stealing a kit?" Her eyes grew wide as Treestar nodded.

"Look, our ranks aren't nearly as big as ThunderClan's, we need all the warriors we can get, even if they are kits right now." Treestar explained. The rest of the patrol agreed quietly, though their eyes betrayed their uneasy feeling.

"Good. Now, let's get back to the clan." Swishing his tail for the patrol to move, he grabbed the kit up in his jaws, whispering.

"Hello there, I'm your leader Treestar. You must be… Redkit. Yes, that will be your name. Hello, Redkit." Treestar smiled, his green eyes unreadable, save for the glint in his eyes as he padded away from the ThunderClan border.


	2. Chapter 1

Redkit opened her eyes to bright sunlight seeping into the den. Her mother Leafheart nuzzled her gently.

"I'm glad you're awake, dear." She said, gently stroking her tongue over Redkit. Redkit squirmed out from under it and looked at her mother.

"I wanted to wake up with the rest of my littermates and play mom!" She squeaked indignantly. Leafheart purred, amused, which in turn made Redkit fluff up in anger.

"What's so funny?" She demanded. Leafheart pulled her closer with her tail.

"You looked so tired when you woke, I thought you might need some more sleep. I'm sorry." She said. Redkit couldn't stay mad at her, and nuzzled closer.

"It's okay mom, I didn't mean to make you upset." Redkit apologized.

"It's quite alright, now go and play with your littermates." Leafheart said gently, pushing her towards the nursery entrance. Redkit bounded out to find her littermates Oakkit, Birchkit, and Sprucekit playing with an old ball of moss. Before she could stop, Sprucekit flung the ball towards her.

"Catch!" She called, but Redkit was too slow and the ball slammed into her, knocking her down. She sniffled while her littermates crowded around.

"What a loser." Oakkit mewed.

"Shouldn't have been allowed out of the nursery." Birchkit snorted. Redkit began to sob, and Leafheart bounded over to where the kits were crowded.

"Now all three of you stop that! I don't want you bullying your sister!" She snapped. The three kits shuffled their paws.

"She not even our sister…" Birchkit mumbled. Leafheart's nostrils flared at the comment.

"All of you! Back to the nursery! NOW." She yelled. The kits squeaked and rushed to the nursery before Leafheart could chase them.

"It's alright sweetie." Leafheart said in between comforting licks. Redkit just sobbed into her fur. Her brothers and sister were always so mean to her, she couldn't understand it.

"What was that?" Treestar meowed as he ran over. "Did you just threaten our kits?"

"They were being rude to Redkit!" Leafheart protested.

"Still, you should've gently chastised them, they don't need to be abused!" Treestar meowed firmly.

"They going to be worthless if you don't raise them right!" Leafheart shot back, a hint of warning on her mew.

"Silence! I won't hear any of your ridiculous claims. Let them back out to play. I need to check how the battle patrol is doing. He stalked off towards the entrance.

"Mom, why can dad be so mean?" Redkit asked. Leafheart jumped.

"He's not mean, just… very protective of his children." She said awkwardly.

"Why isn't he protective of me?" Redkit said, sniffling. Leafheart nudged her affectionately.

"He is protective of you dear. Even if he isn't, you'll always have the protection of your mother." She reassured. Redkit brightened at this.

"Come on mom! Why don't we sort the leaves again?" She bounced on her toes, Leafheart giving her a warm smile.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." She mewed. Before she could move far, the battle patrol walked back into camp, their tails drooping.

"What happened?" Treestar meowed in astonishment. The patrol was battered and bloody, Treestar's eyes widened as he saw the body of Goldenfoot being dragged into camp.

"Who did this?" He growled. "I bet it was that coward Flarestar! He always-" Nighteyes shot him a sharp look, cutting him off.

"Goldenfoot killed herself, she tried to attack Flarestar, but slipped and snapped her neck. It wasn't anyone's fault… except yours." Nighteyes said through gritted teeth.

"How dare you?" Treestar gasped. "I gave you clear plans-"

"You did not! I had to plan the patrol's strategy! If Leafheart had been there, she would've devised a better plan. I'm sorry, but you won't have me as your temporary deputy anymore. Leafheart is a better deputy then I'll ever be." Nighteyes padded to the medicine den, the rest of the cats following. Treestar hissed in frustration and stalked back to his den. Redkit looked up at her mother in amazement.

"You're the deputy of the clan? That's so cool!" She meowed in awe. Leafheart blinked, the distressed look in her eyes faded, and she laughed gently.

"I suppose it is. Now how about those leaves?"

"I'll race you to them!" Redkit scampered away, Leafheart smiled and walked after her.


	3. Chapter 2

Redkit stood outside the nursery, her mother's tougue stroking her fur. She could hardly believe she was becoming an apprentice today!

"There you go. You look wonderful dear." Leafheart said proudly. She called to the rest of the kits, who were scuffling in the dirt.

"Kits, over here! You need to look smart for your apprentice ceremony!" She called. The kits stopped the fight and looked at her.

"Dad doesn't care how we looked." Oakkit sniffed.

"Yeah, you only care how we look." Birchkit added.

"Um… what they said." Sprucekit said.

"Please, you don't want to look like you all have fought a badger!" Redkit could hear the strain in her mother's voice. It was very common to hear actually.

"We don't have to listen to you." Oakkit said. He turned away from his mother, Birchkit following suit. Sprucekit stared awkwardly, shuffling her paws before turning with them. Leafheart sighed and turned to Redkit.

"At least you look smart dear." She said.

"Anything for you mama!" Redkit chirped. A call sounded through the camp, and Leafheart got to her paws.

"It's time." She said, nudging the kit towards where Treestar was sitting.

"…From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Redpaw. Your mentor will be Pigeonwing. I hope Pigeonwing, as inexperienced as she is, will pass down all she knows on to you." The words echoed in Redpaw's mind. She was actually an apprentice! With a new warrior!

"Hello." Pigeonwing's greeting snapped her out of her thoughts. "I hope we can get along really well!" Her tone was cheerful, but Redpaw detected a bit of worry in her mew too.

"It'll be okay." Redpaw meowed reassuringly, touching noses with her. Pigeonwing gave her a grateful glance.

"Look Swiftfoot, I'm a mentor now! Can you belie- aah!" The she-cat had swung around too fast, losing her balance and falling face-first into the ground.

"I'm okay!" Pigeonwing's mew was muffled amidst the dirt. She pulled herself back up and faced Redpaw.

"That, is why you never try to turn quickly… and flirt." Pigeonwing said awkwardly, scratching her ear in embarrassment. Redpaw nudged her.

"Like I said, it'll be okay! Why don't we go out into the forest and explore?" Redpaw pleaded.

"That sounds like an excellent idea!" Pigeonwing answered. "I'll race you to the big oak!" She took off, leaving Redpaw in the dust.

"Hey, that's not fair!" She called, but a rush of excitement coursed through her. Being an apprentice was fun!

"What can you smell?" Pigeonwing asked. Redpaw sniffed the air, looking for any sign of a scent trail.

"I think there's a mouse over there…" She pointed her tail towards the lake. "But I think there's a good squirrel over there."

"Why don't you go after the mouse? I'll see how your hunting abilities are, and we'll work on them if they need any improvement." Pigeonwing sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws. "Well? Go on!" She nudged Redpaw forward, and Redpaw began her crouch. She stalked towards the mouse, trying to stay as stealthy as possible. Misfortune struck her as she stepped on a twig. The mouse darted away before Redpaw could get close.

"No!" She yelled, lunging for it. The mouse scurried into a hole in the ground, Redpaw skidding to a stop, snorting in frustration.

"Aww, bad luck." Pigeonwing meowed sympathetically. "It was a nice attempt though! You just need to be more aware of your surrondings."

"I guess…" Redpaw scuffed the ground with her paws, ashamed she missed.

"Cheer up, nobody gets it right on their first try. It took me several lessons before I caught my first mouse!" Pigeonwing chuckled. "Why don't you watch me?" Pigeonwing started to close in on the unsuspecting squirrel. She was just a few mouse-tails short when the Squirrel booked it for the nearest tree. Pigeonwing yowled in rage, leaping for it. Redpaw gasped as Pigeonwing fell straight into a bramble bush

"Pigeonwing!" Redpaw rushed over to her, where a fluffy gray tail was waving wildly.

"Help!" Pigeonwing cried, her mew desperate.

"Stop struggling!" Redpaw said, biting down on her tail. Tugging hard, the bush finally gave up, Pigeonwing shooting backwards and ending up on her back.

"Ow… that hurt…" She scratched the back of her head, embarrassed. "Let's not talk about that one, okay?"

"That's fine- Wait! I smell another mouse." Redpaw crouched down and began stalking as she followed the scent. Remembering Pigeonwing's advice, she kept a check on her surroundings, narrowly avoiding another twig. Closer and closer she crept, until finally she pounced. The mouse squeaked in terror as Redpaw bit down, killing it.

"Good job!" Pigeonwing said proudly, flicking a bit of bramble from her ear. "You are officially a better apprentice than I was." Redpaw couldn't help but laugh, and Pigeonwing joined in with her.

"Let's get back to the clan and report how good you did." Pigeonwing bounded away, Redpaw trailing her. Her first day out, and she had caught a mouse!

"This is going to be great!" Redpaw thought.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Come on, go for it!" Redpaw lunged out towards her mentor, narrowly missing her and sliding face-first into the sand, Pigeonwing laughed for a moment until she too fell off-balance and plunged into the sand.

"Urgh, maybe we should pit you against an apprentice… and a cat that can stand on their paws!" Pigeonwing meowed in amusement.  
"I think he should be around here… hey Swiftfoot!" Pigeonwing called. The white and black tom padded out of the bushes, a little she-cat following alongside him.  
"How about we let our apprentices do some battle training?" Pigeonwing suggested to Swiftfoot. Swiftfoot nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that will be fine. I'm sure you've got lots of moves to show off to Redpaw, huh Dovepaw?"

"Y-yes." The she-cat stammered. Redpaw could see as Dovepaw approached her that she was shaking like a leaf, her face in a constant look of fear and shame.

"P-please go easy on me, I-I don't want to get h-h-hurt like I did with y-your siblings." Her voice shook, and Redpaw felt a twinge of pity for the apprentice.

"Ready, set… go!" Pigeonwing cried. Dovepaw hurled herself at Redpaw with a whimper. Redpaw took the hit and batted at her with her paws. Dovepaw sprang back up and started to batter Redpaw with her paws, the two parried each other with their paws, until one of the blows knocking Redpaw to the ground. Dovepaw looked at her, her blue eyes confused as the fiery she-cat lay still. Of course Redpaw had plenty of time to get up and take Dovepaw out with a few easy moves, but she winked at Dovepaw, and she understood what to do. Dovepaw leaped into the air, landing beside Redpaw and gently putting her paw on her neck. Redpaw beat the ground with her paw.

"Stop! Stop! You're too good!" Redpaw gasped. Swiftfoot and Pigeonwing came over, where the two apprentices had sat up and was washing the sand out of their fur.

"Good job! I knew you had it in you!" Swiftfoot meowed proudly, giving his apprentice an approving lick.

"You weren't half bad either Redpaw." Pigeonwing said, although her eyes flashed, and Redpaw thought there was something more she wanted to say, but she kept quiet.

"I owe Swiftfoot a mouse, so why don't you two practice some?" Pigeonwing suggested. The two apprentices shook their heads enthusiastically, and the mentors set off for the words. Dovepaw turned to Redpaw.

"...You let me win?" Dovepaw tilted her head in confusion.

"Well… maybe, but I knew training had been hard on you, so I thought you might want a confidence boost." Redpaw said awkwardly. The words came out a little harsher than she expected, but Dovepaw just looked at her happily.

"Thank you. Nobody's ever given me a chance before!" Dovepaw bounced on her toes.

"It's nothing." Redpaw dipped her head in embarrassment. "Now, let's practice some. Those hits could be a little harder, perhaps."

"Okay!" Dovepaw mewed excitedly. The pair began to exchange strikes. Redpaw was pleased she'd restored some of this she-cat's spirits.

Both cats were lounging around camp, Redpaw washing her fur while Dovepaw enthusiastically talked about her family.

"…and you haven't seen the real Graypaw! He may be a bit of a klutz, but he's a genuinely sweet cat, and-"

"Hey, you two!" Pigeonwing padded over to where both cats were sitting. "Leafheart wants to know if you two are up for a border patrol?"

"Absolutely." Redpaw said, getting up from her spot in the sun.

"Good, I'll go ask Brackenfeather and then we should be good to go. Wait at the camp entrance will you?" Pigeonwing turned to head for the warrior's den. Redpaw stifled a laugh as Pigeonwing went off balance and almost bit the dust. Dovepaw turned to her with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Woah, a real patrol! I've never been on a border patrol before!"

"You haven't?" Redpaw was puzzled. She thought it was something all apprentices went on when they became one.

"Well, Swiftfoot always said we'd do it at another time because I was so nervous, but I think I'm ready now!" She reared up and started to swipe the air playfully. "Watch out, ThunderClan scum!" Redpaw watched amusedly as she practiced mock battle moves. It was really nice to see her so lively after she'd been perceived as worrisome.

Pigeonwing came over soon enough, Brackenfeather following, flicking moss out of her ears.

"I swear you all don't like for me to get some sleep every now and then." She muttered.

"Come on Brackenfeather, I think you slept plenty when I was your apprentice!" Pigeonwing laughed. "Oh shut up." Brackenfeather growled. Although Redpaw could see her eyes held a bit of an amused look. Leafheart strode up a moment later, ushering the patrol out into the woods. Redpaw was amazed at all the stuff she saw, the warriors explaining most of what it was to her (although Pigeonwing had trouble identifying a thorn bush, causing a wave of chuckles from the patrol). They had just reached the ThunderClan border, Leafheart explaining the ThunderClan territory to them.

"It's mostly trees like ours, but ThunderClan cats have legendary tactics that you should always-" A yowl cut her off, and the patrol caught sight of a ThunderClan patrol heading towards them.

"Dustwhisker? To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you?" Leafheart's tone was icy as she spoke.

"Nothing much, although I wanted the chance to inform your clan about a disturbance." He said, his yellow eyes unwavering.

"Is something wrong?" Leafheart asked, the tom's steady tone making her wary.

"Badgers. Flarestar wanted the clans to know." He replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, I see you have two new scraps of fur in the clan?"

"I'm Dovepaw, and this is Redpaw! Nice to meet you!" Dovepaw said in a chipper voice.

"We're not scraps of fur…" Redpaw meowed sullenly. For some reason, this cat reminded her so much of her father.

"A pleasure to meet both of you. Who's your parents?" Dustwhisker's question caught Redpaw off guard, and she stammered before Leafheart cut in.

"I'm her mother." She said, edging herself between Redpaw and Dustwhisker.

"Interesting… Well, I hope to see you all at the gathering sometime. Good day." He dipped his head respectfully to Leafheart, who returned the favor. Her eyes narrowed as he turned and walked away.

"He seemed really cool!" Dovepaw gasped in amazement.

"He's not." Leafheart retored. Dovepaw shrank back at the deputy's sharp reply.

"Why?" Redpaw asked, curious as to why Leafheart seemed to hold a grudge against Dustwhisker.

"He just reeks of being no good." Leafheart answered, though she seemed pretty cautious about her answer. Redpaw shrugged and continued along with the patrol. Nothing unusual happened after that, but Redpaw couldn't help but wonder: What was Leafheart's connection to Dustwhisker?


	5. Chapter 4

Redpaw drowsed in the late greenleaf sun, almost about to go to sleep when Dovepaw came running up.

"Hey Redpaw! There's someone I want you to meet!" She mewed excitedly.

"Who?" Redpaw asked, blinking the sleepiness from her eyes.

"I told you about him! It's my brother, Graypaw." Dovepaw moved aside for a small gray cat to step up.

"Er, hi." Graypaw meowed awkwardly.

"Hello." Redpaw said back, her opinion on the apprentice wavering as he shifted his paws uncomfortably.

"I've seen you around. You're pretty normal, for being a leader's kit." Graypaw's eyes lit up with shock as he realized what he said. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, honestly. I don't want anyone thinking I'm something special." She said.

"Well Graypaw? Isn't there something you wanted to tell her?" Dovepaw pressed her brother. Redpaw tilted her head, confused.

"Tell me what?" She stared at Graypaw, but it must've turned into a glare, because a panicked look flashed in his eyes.

"I uh, w-wanted to… Um, er… ask… d-do you like…" Graypaw tumbled over his words until finally choking something out. "Do you like… mouse?"

"Of course." Redpaw replied. Graypaw shook his head rapidly, mumbled out a "thanks", and hurried away.

"Hey, Redpaw! Herb hunting!" A call from Firecloud reached her ears. Redpaw turned to head off, but Dovepaw blocked her way.

"Well? Isn't he charming?" Dovepaw asked, staring at Redpaw intensely.

"Yeah, I guess." Redpaw replied, although she thought Dovepaw's brother was more of a bother than anything else.

* * *

The moon was beginning to rise as Redpaw kneaded her nest's moss to get comfortable. Laying down and closing her eyes, she had just gone to sleep when the sound of footsteps woke her. Squinting her eyes, she noticed three cats moving slowly, one turned their head back nervously and jumped, racing out of the entrance. Redpaw then noticed another thing. Oakpaw's, Birchpaw's, and Sprucepaw's nests were empty. Piecing together what was going on, Redpaw got up slowly, as not to wake the remaining apprentices. Once she was safely out of camp, she took off into the forest, trailing her siblings.

Redpaw skidded to a stop just before the ThunderClan border, gasping. Their scents went straight over. Surely they didn't cross? Redpaw decided it was best she didn't trail them. Sitting down, she scuffed the sand for a while, until loud yowls came from the SkyClan camp. Treestar hurried up, Leafheart and Nighteyes following him closely.

"Where are they?!" He panted.

"Well they-" Redpaw was about to explain when another yowl caught her attention.

"Relax, Treestar." Flarestar's meow was calm and clear, it certainly wasn't what Redpaw expected.

"What in StarClan's name were you all doing?!" Treestar snapped as Flarestar herded the apprentices across the border.

"They weren't doing much, just a bit of explor-"

"Shut up! Who asked you?" Treestar thundered at the leader. Flarestar flattened his eyes and backed away, whisking his tail to round up his patrol. Plunging into the night, Treestar swung around to confront all four apprentices.

"Which one of you did it, huh?!" Treestar screeched. Nobody replied, making Treestar even more furious. He scanned the group, before his eyes focused on Redpaw.

"You!" He yowled. "You put this up to this, didn't you?"

"What?!" Redpaw meowed in shock. How did this suddenly turn on her? "I didn't-"

"Yeah, it was her." Oakpaw mewed coolly.

"Definitely. I thought she'd never go as far as the ThunderClan camp though!" Birchpaw added, shooting Redpaw a quick glare.

"That's, um… no wait, that isn't-"

"Shut up Sprucepaw." Oakpaw snapped.

"I never even WENT with you, how could you-"

"SILENCE! Redpaw, I ought to throw you out of my clan this instant, you traitorous little-"

"That's enough." Leafheart's soft mew sounded. "We can figure out who really came up with the idea later, right now they should all have some restrictions until we know."

"But my kits-" Treestar started, but Leafheart cut him off.

"Take YOUR kits back to the clan then." She meowed coldly. Treestar snorted and rounded them up, giving Redpaw an angry stare before setting off back to camp.

"Leafheart, I didn't-"

"I know dear, I know you didn't do anything wrong. Just… let Treestar do what he wants, okay?" She almost sounded ashamed to mention the leader's name. Redpaw sighed and followed her mother. She'd only tried to keep them out of trouble, how'd she end up getting the blame?

* * *

Redpaw stared angrily out of the den. She knew sneaking out of camp wasn't right, but she wasn't happy her "siblings" made her take the fall. Curling up, she was about to sleep when something nudged her.

"Hey." Redpaw instantly recognized the voice as Graypaw's.

"What?" Redpaw responded with a hint of a snarl. Graypw shrunk back. "Sorry…" she apologized.

"So… can I show you something?" He asked.

"What is it?" Redpaw asked warily. "I'm already in trouble you know."

"It's a surprised. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"No, I'll come." Getting up and stretching, she followed Graypaw into the cold night, sneaking through a gap in the camp wall and walked to a fallen tree caught in another. Graypaw sat on the end of the tree, Redpaw sitting beside him.

"So… what are we looking for?" Redpaw asked.

"The stars. Quite beautiful aren't they?"

"Do you do this often?"

"Yeah, it's nice to feel the comfort of silverpelt."

"Yeah… I guess it is." The two apprentices sat for what felt like forever until Graypaw stood up.

"Well, we should get going before anyone notices you're gone."

"Okay." Redpaw followed him back, finding the little adventure somehow… charming.

* * *

Redpaw sat up in her nest, the cold moon staring back at her. She barely noticed Pigeonwing trying to stifle a yawn as she padded into the apprentice den.

"Hey there Redpaw, what's up?" Pigeonwing asked as she settled into an old nest near the wall.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the warrior's den?" Redpaw asked, though she wasn't interested in an answer.

"Well I like my old nest a lot, real comfy, and there's also that leak-"

"Hey Pigeonwing, can I ask you a question?" Redpaw cut in. Pigeonwing mumbled something Redpaw didn't catch, and grunting, sat up.

"Yeah? If you want to know tomorrow's plans, I don't have anything lined up, so I figured we could wing it."

"What is love?"  
Pigeonwing shot her ears up as the words tumbled out of Redpaw's mouth.

"You're asking me?" Pigeonwing mouth gaped in shock. "You're asking the she-cat who eats dirt whenever she tries to ask a cat for some alone time?"

"Well, uh… yeah. You've tried it so many times, I think you'd know some of what it means." Redpaw wanted to back out and forget it all happened, but she let Pigeonwing think for a bit.

"Well… love is kinda like… a connection to someone." She said.

"Of course mouse-brain." Redpaw said snippily.

"Easy now, I'm no mentor of love." Pigeonwing mewed. "I guess love is something you know you want when the thing you're in love with will stand beside you, no matter what, in everything."  
Pigeonwing's words tumbled in Redpaw's thought for a bit. It made a great deal of sense, but Redpaw couldn't think of anyone she had that connection with.

"Okay, thanks." Redpaw said, before settling in her own nest.

"No problem, just know I had this weird urge to say something, I think it was…"  
But Redpaw had drifted off to sleep before her mentor's ramblings could really start.


	6. Chapter 5

The warm taste of blood still felt funny to Redpaw's tongue as the mouse let out a feeble squeak and lay dead.

"Woah, that's your third mouse today! Nice!" Pigeonwing said. "You'll be a better hunter than me in no time."

"Thanks." Redpaw dipped her head in embarrassment, praise wasn't something she was well accustomed to.

"Come on, we should get back to camp. I hear there's a meeting going on." Pigeonwing said, setting off at a brisk pace.

"Whatever for?" Redpaw wondered. It wasn't often Treestar called a public meeting.

"Something about a battle, I couldn't listen in well enough." Pigeonwing replied, before her ears shot up as she realized what she said. "Er, don't tell anyone about that, okay?"

"Okay." Redpaw said, her mind drifting to whatever the meeting would be.

* * *

"Clanmates! It is time!" Treestar yowled from the stump. The rest of the clan huddled near as Treestar began to speak.

"For too long ShadowClan has wronged us. Crossing our borders and stealing our prey! We shall fight to protect our borders!"

"Psst." Brackenfeather leaned over and whispered to Pigeonwing and Redpaw. "They've never done that, he's totally bluffing."

"Where's the proof?" Swiftfoot called. Most of the clan murmured in agreement. Treestar dug his claws into the tree, annoyed.

"SILENCE!" He yelled. Most of the mews went silent, though a bit of grumbling continued. "We don't need proof! The evidence is clearly how they act at gatherings! It's suspicious I tell you!"

"So you're going off a HUNCH? Are you literally insane?!" Mistyeye hissed.

"Leafheart?" Nighteyes meowed to the deputy, who was shifting uncomfortably nearby. "What's your opinion on this?"

"W-Well, I think-" She cut herself off when Treestar gave her a harsh glare. "I-I think we should go through with it."

"Lies." Nighteyes hissed. "You don't think that really, your 'mate' is manip-"

"Nighteyes, surely I don't have to make myself clear to you?" Treestar said, his mew cool and calm. Nighteyes flattened his ears and backed away. Redpaw was confused, Her father wouldn't resort to threats, surely?

"I will send out a messenger, to notify them, and hopefully they will reconsider the crossing of ours borders." Treestar declared. "Birchpaw!" The young cat stood to attention as he was called.

"Can you go to ShadowClan and inform them of our decision to fight?"

"I don't know, can I?" Birchpaw said, his wisecrack not unnoticed.

"How rude." Redpaw thought, but before she could call him out for his behavior, Birchpaw had already dashed off.

* * *

It was sunhigh by the time Birchpaw returned. Puffing, he explained what they had said.

"Cloudstar denies his clan has crossed the border, but he wishes not to fight, and will give a gift to avoid battle."

"Hmph, I suppose that's a fair- What is that?!" Treestar gasped at a slight scratch on Birchpaw's leg.

"Oh, that? A kit got out of the nursery and started to attack my leg. Nothing really." Birchpaw said, but Treestar's eyes were filled with absolute rage.

"A ShadowClan cat DARES to hurt my son?" His meow turned into a screech. "This means war!"

"You're getting too worked up over this." Lightbreeze said. Treestar rounded on him, Lightbreeze shrinking back.

"Any cat fit enough that does not come with me will be exiled immediately!" He hissed. He stormed to the entrance, cat muttering and shuffling behind him. Redpaw felt Pigeonwing's breath on her ear as she walked alongside.

"This is your first battle, I hope you're ready." Redpaw nodded. Her first battle! Truthfully she felt excited, but on the other paw, it just didn't seem right.

* * *

The SkyClan patrol stood in line, ready to fight. A ShadowClan patrol emerged from the pines, Cloudstar at the head.

"Fool, do you honestly think this is a good idea?" Cloudstar rumbled.

"You hurt my kit, this is a transgression I cannot ignore." Treestar growled. Cloudstar laughed.

"You really are foolish, but if it's a battle you want…" His cats started to fan out behind him. "It's a battle you'll get!"  
His meow filled with rage, Treestar hurled himself at Cloudstar, the two locking and tussling in the grass. Redpaw scurried to find some cat to battle. Spotting a large black tom, she threw herself at his tail, biting into it fiercely. The tom screeched and turned, scratching her nose. Redpaw squealed in pain, jumping away.

"You little- huh? Why, you're just an apprentice!" The tom said in surprise.

"Yeah, I am. So what?" Redpaw growled. The tom purred in amusement.

"Take my advice, young one, don't fight something larger than y-" He was cut off as Minttail hurled herself at him. The pair began to fight, and Redpaw thought she should look for her mentor. She noticed Pigeonwing fighting with a young ginger she-cat.

"Come on, fox-breath, surely you can do better." Pigeonwing jeered.

"I can, and not use petty insults!" Hooking Pigeonwing in the cheek, she slammed her paw into her, sending Pigeonwing tumbling to the ground. Redpaw sprinted over and launched herself into the warrior's side before she could start shredding Pigeonwing.

"Good job Redpaw! Well done!" she called, Redpaw put all her moves to the test, beating the she-cat back. Finally spitting, the ginger cat spun around and ran back to camp.

"Impressive, but there's still a lot more-" An eerie scream sounded out, and all cats stopped battling to see the limp body of Lightbreeze sliding off Cloudstar's back, who slumped and fell to the ground as well. He got up a few moments later.

"Did he faint?" Redpaw asked her mentor.

"Umm…" Pigeonwing mewed awkwardly.

"If he fainted, then Lightbreeze should get back up too right?"

"Redpaw… Lightbreeze is dead." Pigeonwing mewed quietly. Redpaw looked at Lightbreeze's body in horror.

"Dead… L-Like Goldenfoot?" She'd been too young to understand what happened, but now she had put the pieces together.

"At least they'll rest together happily." Brackenfeather said, walking over to the two and began to wash blood off of her ears. The sound of a cat spitting reached their ears.

"You… You… You KILLED him!" Treestar yelled. Cloudstar staggered, shaking himself to recover.

"You realize he killed me as well?" Cloudstar said. "I simply scratched at him to get him off, but I didn't think it'd kill him." Treestar hissed and spun around.

"Clanmates, we shall retreat!" He called. His clanmates however, just sat there. "I said retreat!" He screeched.

"You aren't even going to take back Lightbreeze's body?" Icypool mewed in confusion.

"Only an idiot would've tried what he did." Treestar said coldly. He stormed off back to camp, the rest of the clan touched their noses to Lightbreeze's fur before hurrying to keep up with their leader. When it was Redpaw's turn, she dug her nose into his fur, whispering.

"May StarClan light your path." Redpaw said, repeating words she had heard before. Running, her shock at Lightbreeze's death was edged with disbelief that her clan had lost a battle.


	7. Chapter 6

"Wow! That was a cool move back there! Can you show me how to do it? Please!" Dovepaw pleaded to Redpaw as they walked back from a training session.

"Come on Dovepaw, don't bother her too much." Graypaw mewed. "She's just as tired as you are."

"I'm not tired!" Dovepaw huffed. Redpaw chuckled as the sibling squabble continued to the camp entrance. Blossomheart met them there.

"Hey you three, the gathering cats are about to be decided. Where's your mentor?" She flashed a questioning look at Redpaw.

"She's... Stuck in a tree." Redpaw said. Blossomheart just sighed and brushed past them, muttering "Figures" to herself. The trio headed over to where the cats were bunched up, Leafheart hopped up onto the stump and began to speak.

"Clanmates! It is time to choose the cats for the gathering tonight!" She yowled.

"Hey, hold on." Nighteyes said before Leafheart could speak. "Why isn't our 'leader' announcing this?"

"Erm, well…" Leafheart stuttered. "He's kind of… down after the recent loss."

"Which one?" Ashpelt joked. Most of the cats shot him an angry look, but there was a few purrs of amusement.

"Always how it is." Redpaw heard a voice whisper to Mistyeye. It belonged to Brackenfeather.

"Treestar gets mad, fights, loses because he has no sense of strategy, and then gets down and out about it."

"I know." Mistyeye replied. "Alderstar would've at least planned something." Redpaw tried to block out the murmuring she-cats as Leafheart finished listing off the cats going to the gathering.

"...Pigeonwing, Blossomheart, and… I suppose the apprentices can come along, since the majority of them have never been." Leafheart said.

"Are you sure about that?" Nighteyes meowed, shifting his eyes over to where Oakpaw and Birchpaw were tussling like kits.

"Well… it is their first gathering for some. I think it's fair they go." Leafheart said firmly. "If they can't behave, they will be properly punished." The clan gasped at her final words. Mews of

"Treestar would never punish them!" and "Is she insane?!" erupted. Leafheart lifted her tail to silence them.

"It has been decided! We will leave shortly. You all must be prepared to leave." She hopped down from the stump, and the cats started to mill about. Redpaw was confused about earlier. How come the clan had a clear dislike of their leader?

* * *

The group padded off the treebridge and hopped lightly onto the sandy beach, heading for the big tree at the center.

"Hey, since this is your first gathering, why don't you let me show you how it's done?" Dovepaw whispered to Redpaw.

"Show how what's done?" Redpaw asked.

"Silly, how to act! You gotta be… professional." She said, strutting up to a bunch of ShadowClan apprentices and awkwardly sitting down behind them.

"Don't listen to her, this is our second gathering after all." Graypaw meowed from behind her, causing her to jump. "Easy now, don't jump out of your pelt!" He said, amusement tinging his tone. Redpaw shook her fur crossly.

"Don't do that!" she growled. Graypaw just chuckled and started to walk away.

"Just find a cat to talk to!" He threw over his shoulder. Redpaw huffed and padded towards some elders at the edge of the clearing.

"I tell ya Hawktalon, the fish was about this big!" The cat stretched her paws out to show who she referred to as Hawktalon.

"Well, I don't think it could be- eh? Who's this?" Hawktalon said as Redpaw padded over.

"Um, hello." Redpaw said shyly. The two elders laughed, and Redpaw flattened her ears. She hadn't said anything humorous. Were they making fun of her?

"Oh, calm down." The she-cat said as Redpaw sat down. "We're only having a bit of a laugh. You young'uns are getting shyer and shyer every moon!"

"Indeed!" Hawktalon mewed in agreement. "Anyway, my name is Hawktalon, and this is my friend Moonclaw."

"Greetings." Moonclaw dipped her head to Redpaw, who returned the gesture.

"So, you two are from the same clan?" Redpaw asked.

"Oh no, I'm a ThunderClan cat, and Moonclaw's a RiverClan cat. By the smell of it, you're a SkyClan cat." Hawktalon let out a small mrrow. "Why don't you do a flip?" Moonclaw butted him in the shoulder.

"Now Hawktalon, don't rile her up! We've actually got a young cat listening to us."

"Ah, you're right. So, you mind if we continue our conversation?" Hawktalon asked. Redpaw shook her head to show she didn't.

"Okay, so… where was I? Ah, I forgot!" Hawktalon hissed.

"You mentioned something about Sweetheart?"

"Sweetheart! That SkyClan she-cat. Right. You know I heard she used to be a kittypet?"

"That was never confirmed, was it?" Moonclaw tipped her head.

"Well, no. But I wouldn't doubt it considering how soft she was, especially with those kits."

"Indeed. It's too bad poor Brightkit got sick, so Treekit had to grow up alone." Moonclaw said. Redpaw snapped her head up from her short boredom nap.

"Did you say… Treekit? You mean, the Treekit that became Treestar?"

"The one and only. I tell you, his parents spent too much time with him. He's softer than Sweetheart, honest- Erm…" Hawktalon cut off abruptly. "Sorry." He apologized to Redpaw.

"Don't be. It's fine, honestly." Redpaw meowed. She said goodbye to the two elders, and walked to join her clanmates as Cloudstar yowled.

"It is time to begin. WindClan is late… again." He growled. Leafheart bounded up to sit near him. Both he and Flarestar flicked their ears in surprise.

"Leafheart? Unusual to see you there. I thought Nighteyes would be taking over again." Flarestar said to her.

"I've had plenty of time to recover from my kitting, don't worry." She said back. Bluestar, the RiverClan leader, licked her paw and started drawing it over her ears.

"I think we might as well start. WindClan is-"

"Sorry we're late!" The WindClan leader hurried into the clearing, his clan streaming out behind him. He clawed up the tree and found a spot to sit.

"You must have some sort of summoning power." Leafheart laughed. A small wave of amusement went through the cats.

"Perhaps. Although I wished it summoned my own clan rather than WindClan." Bluestar purred. Cloudstar snorted and looked to the WindClan leader.

"Slowstar, this is the fourth gathering you've been late to. Any reason?" His tone was edged with annoyance.

"Er, well. A queen needed some herbs, and I couldn't just leave and not know how she was doing, y-y'know?" He said awkwardly.

"Don't you have a medicine cat for that kind of stuff? Honestly." Cloudstar sighed. Slowstar bushed his fur, although his tiny shape could only make up half of Cloudstar's bulk.

"Ahem." Flarestar coughed. "We should actually begin. Cloudstar, any news?"

"Yes. A few days ago, we had to bury the body of Lightbreeze, as SkyClan refused to take his body back to his clan." He flashed a look to Leafheart.

"For that I am extremely sorry. It was uncalled for, and I'll make sure nothing like it happens again. If you need anything to make it up, I will try to provide it." She said. Cloudstar, expecting a very different response, turned his head and mumbled "No thanks" before motioning to Flarestar.

"I am sorry for SkyClan's loss, especially after the loss of Goldenfoot. ThunderClan does not have much news, aside from our new medicine cat apprentice, Wingpaw!"  
A chorus of cheers went up for Wingpaw. The young apprentice looked embarrassed, and Redpaw had to be nudged to cheer for him. Bluestar went next.

"RiverClan has no news to share, as we are doing well in this time." She then motioned to Slowstar, who bounced a little.

"Okay, so, WindClan is doing okay, but we have a little sickness outbreak." A WindClan warrior sneezed as if to give effect. "So, be careful, okay?" Leafheart then stepped up.

"Well, seems I'm last. SkyClan mourns our losses, and we hope to come back from it. We do have good news, in the form of four new apprentices. Welcome Oakpaw, Birchpaw, Sprucepaw, and Redpaw!"

The gathering went into another chorus of cheers, and Redpaw felt like she could shrink right into the island she was standing on. After the cheering was finished, the gathering broke up, and clan cats started to go back to camp. Redpaw hurried to catch up to Leafheart as they headed back.

"Hey, um, mom." Redpaw said, trying to keep pace with her.

"Yes dear?" Leafheart asked.

"Can I ask you, who's Sweetheart? Some elders were-"

"I don't think that's someone you need to know." Leafheart said quickly.

"But she's family-"

"And she's dead." Leafheart said bluntly. Picking up the pace, Redpaw could only watch as her mother faded from view.

"Hey, kit." Firecloud's voice caught her ear. "Don't pry where you don't belong."

"O-Okay." She mewed, ashamed. But another part of her wondered: What was the point of keeping all these things hidden? Wasn't the truth important?


	8. Chapter 7

The sinking moon shone weakly through the clouds as Redpaw snuck out of the apprentice's den. Creeping quietly to the entrance, she poked around the corner to check the guards. Blossomheart was drowsing and Pigeonwing snored softly. Redpaw sneaked by and made a dash for a nearby tree. Blossomheart's head snapped up, but felt back asleep shortly. Knowing that she was in the clear, she sprinted for the ShadowClan border. The thought that Treestar's mother was a kittypet astounded her. She'd heard kittypet blood had been a common thing in the clans moons ago but it was mostly dispersed by the time she was born. The thoughts of who Sweetheart was whirled in her head until she reached a twoleg den. It was fairly clean, the shiny spikes on top of the open wall glinting at her. Redpaw decided the best course of action was to glare at it. Waiting for the sun to rise, she sat under a bush. Moments passed, and before the sun cracked the horizon, Redpaw fell asleep.

* * *

A loud yowl sounded, and Redpaw jolted awake, tail bushed. Scanning the area, she realized it was coming from the twoleg den.  
"Spencer! Spencer! Come over here!" A small black she-cat called, staring straight at Redpaw.  
"Ugh, what is it Raven?" The ginger tom mewed, annoyed.  
"Look at that! Is it a real clan cat?" Raven asked Spencer.  
"How should I know? Hey!" He yelled. Redpaw jumped and hissed. "Are you a clan cat?"  
"Yes." Redpaw answered hesitantly.  
"Wow! That's so cool!" Raven exclaimed. "So… what are you doing here? Do you wanna be a kittypet?"  
"No!" Redpaw said forcefully, before thinking she shouldn't be that way. "Erm… no thank you."  
"Okay, so what are you doing?" Spencer repeated Raven's question.  
"I'm here to make some inquiries." She said. Spencer's ears pricked in curiosity.  
"What kind?"  
"I want to know about a cat named Sweetheart." Spencer tilted his head in confusion.  
"Huh?… Sorry, don't know them. But-" before he could finish, Raven bumped him out of the way.  
"Are you talking about Sweetie? Oh, poor thing, went off to become a clan cat. You aren't her daughter are you?!" Raven gasped.  
"…No." Was this she-cat dumb?  
"Aww… I was hoping you were. I never got to talk to her two kits, Tree and Bright…" Raven said glumly. Spencer shot her a sharp glance, which Redpaw caught immediately.  
"How do you know she had kits? Their names even?" She quizzed. Raven jumped, a panicked look on her face.  
"H-How? Well, um, I… J-Just heard it." She meowed quickly. Redpaw wasn't convinced.  
"Tell me, or I tell my claws to attack." She flexed them, causing more distress to the kittypet.  
"Y-Y-You won't do that, I know-"  
"Raven." Spencer said. "Knock it off." Raven sighed, dropping her head.  
"I knew this would come back to bite me." She mewed.  
"What would bite you?" Redpaw asked, still suspicious.  
"I… used to be a clan cat… for a time. Not that anyone would remember me. I ran away… it's scary you know! I-I couldn't take it, so I fled! Happy?" Her last word was dripping with anger.  
"That's not what I came for, so I'm not." Redpaw meowed bluntly. "Tell me about Sweetheart.  
"Yes… yes, Sweetheart. We were sisters you know. We wanted to know what it was like to be wild. She joined SkyClan, and I joined ShadowClan. It was great. Scary, but great. Then… it happened."  
"What happened." Redpaw leaned over in interest.  
"She-"  
"She committed suicide and died in battle." A flat voice came from the shadows. Raven screeched in alarm and fled to her den, Spencer eyed Redpaw suspiciously for another second, then followed after her.  
"Wha- Firecloud? How do you-"  
"Come on, follow me." She said brusquely. Redpaw trailed behind her until Firecloud stopped and looked at her.  
"Why do you want to know about Sweetheart." She asked directly.  
"I just wanted to know if she was really a kittypet." Redpaw said, standing up a little straighter to face Firecloud.  
"So you got your answer, let's go." She turned and was about to start walking when Redpaw noticed something.  
"Hold on, how do you know her cause of death?"  
"Because I handled her pathetic body, of course." Firecloud said. "Why are you being so nosy?"  
"Why are you so angry?" Redpaw flashed back.  
"I'm not." Firecloud retorted, her claws sliding out a bit.  
"Normally medicine cats don't call their clanmates' bodies 'pathetic'. Besides, how did you know it was suicide and not an attack?"  
"Because I've seen her claws enough to know you twit!" Firecloud hissed.  
"Really? How come?" Redpaw pressed.  
"She's my idiot mother. I'm sure that's what you wanted to hear huh?" Firecloud snarled.  
"Yes… wait, mother? But… Sweetheart only had two kits! Treekit and Brightkit!" Redpaw said in confusion. "There's no Firekit…"  
"Who do you think Brightkit was, mouse-brain? While you're at it, why don't you guess who got showered in more love, and who got kicked out of her rotten little family?"  
"Umm… well…" Redpaw meowed uneasily.  
"Honestly Redpaw, I like you, but it doesn't take a smart cat to figure that out." Firecloud snorted and padded away. Redpaw sat down, fitting together the pieces of information she got today. Sweetheart had apparently killed herself, but for what? Brightkit… was Firecloud, she realized. But why the name change, and why did she hold so much contempt. Redpaw pondered on these questions, deciding that right now, it would be best to pursue these mysteries later, at least until Firecloud was calmed down. She ran back to camp, not wanting to miss training.


	9. Chapter 8

Redpaw swiped and ducked as Graypaw swung back. She slammed into Graypaw's belly, knocking the cat over, who landed on the ground with an "oof." A yowl from Dovepaw signaled the end of the fight, and Graypaw stood back up, shaking dirt off his ears.  
"Good match, Redpaw. I had fun." Graypaw said, dipping his head to the she-cat.  
"Thank you. You aren't bad yourself." She meowed back.  
"Oooh, fight me! Fight me!" Dovepaw said excitingly. Redpaw stepped back and crouched before Leafheart appeared in the small clearing.  
"Hey, Redpaw. Would you mind going hunting with me for a bit?" Leafheart asked.  
"Oh, sure." Redpaw replied. She shot an apologetic look at Dovepaw. "Sorry, we can fight another time though."  
"It's ok! Graypaw's a pushover, I can practice on him!" Dovepaw purred. Graypaw mockingly lashed his tail and pounced at her.  
"I'm not a pushover!" The two siblings started to tussle, and Redpaw followed Leafheart out of the clearing into the pine forest.

* * *

"So, how's training?" Leafheart asked. The two cats had gathered a small pile, and stopped to rest for a bit.  
"It's fine, Pigeonwing's a little more balanced now, so we can actually practice fighting moves." Redpaw meowed in amusement. Leafheart chuckled, ending with a slight sigh.  
"Something wrong?" Redpaw asked.  
"No, nothing." Leafheart replied, shaking her head.  
"Come on mom, I know there's something. Tell me." Redpaw said.  
"Inquisitive, aren't you? Fine, I'm just… Worried." Leafheart mewed uneasily.  
"Worried? I haven't see anything to worry about except…" Redpaw's mew died out as she figured out what her mother was referring to. "Oakpaw and Birchpaw?"  
"You're too smart, you know?" Leafheart said, butting her daughter in the shoulder. "Yes, I'm afraid they'll keep acting like this if they aren't put in line."  
"I can agree honestly." Redpaw said, her mother's ears flicking up in surprise. "They're just kind of bratty, honestly."  
"Well… I wouldn't say it like that…" Leafheart mewed softly, a tiny bit of hurt in her voice.  
"Sorry about that." Redpaw apologized, forgetting for a moment that they were Leafheart's actual kits.  
"I'm also worried about Sprucepaw. She seems so… reserved. She goes along with her brother's plans and I don't think she wants to." Leafheart said.  
"You sound like there's something else you want to say." Redpaw eyed her mother for any sign of a tell.  
"Would… would you try to become friends with her?" Leafheart said quietly.  
"Friends?! No way!" Redpaw exclaimed. Not after how they blamed her for their little expedition into ThunderClan territory.  
"Please! I don't want her to get hurt!" Leafheart pleaded.  
"What about Oakpaw and Birchpaw? I'm definitely not becoming their friends." Redpaw narrowed her eyes at her mother.  
"I understand that." Leafheart winced, taking in Redpaw's words. "Oakpaw and Birchpaw only listen to Treestar. But Sprucepaw is different, please. Please help her." The look in her eyes was filled with sadness and a small spark of hope. Redpaw slowly dipped her head.  
"Alright. I will." She nuzzled her mother affectionately, but she still had doubts.  
"Thank you, Redpaw. Now how about we get this prey back to camp, and we can go pick herbs for Firecloud?"  
"Okay." Redpaw mewed. She could use some bonding time with Leafheart after all.

* * *

Both she-cats entered camp, their mouths filled with herbs for Firecloud. The medicine cat met them at the entrance.  
"Ah, thank you Leafheart. I've been meaning to stock up on Goldenrod." Firecloud said. Redpaw looked at her in confusion. Firecloud wasn't this nice usually.  
"It was no problem." The deputy meowed. As the two chatted, another warrior padded up.

"Excuse me, Firecloud, but I was wondering-"

"What? Wondering what? If you didn't notice, I was talking to someone." She snapped.

"I-I just need some herbs for my mate, she-"

"Oh, the poor little cat couldn't come fetch her own? Pah, you warriors now are pathetic." She whisked around and began to search her herb stores.

"What was that all about?" Redpaw asked, whispering in her mother's ear.

"Oh, that's usually how Firecloud acts, prickly and bad tempered. I'm shocked she hasn't snapped your head off." Leafheart paused, then purred. "Maybe she likes you."

"Yeah, I guess…" Redpaw said. She was such a contrast to her brother. What had made her this way? Before she could ask, Firecloud reappeared and dropped a small bundle.

"Take these." She told the warrior.

"But you don't even-"

"I know what she has because she complained yesterday, now go!" She yelled. The warrior turned, scowling, and headed back to his mate.

"Poor Ashpelt, always the brunt of Firecloud's sharp tongue." Leafheart meowed.

"I'm right here you know." Firecloud said, but the sharpness in her voice had suddenly vanished. Was all of her family this… weird?

"I'll be out finding herbs, so if you two need anything, I won't be here." She said.

"Say, Firecloud, shouldn't you be training an apprentice?" Leafheart asked. Firecloud just scoffed.

"Apprentice? Please, I don't need a constant nosy brat around my stores. Plus, I'm young and fit." She swiped at a dead leaf, expertly cutting it to pieces. Redpaw was intrigued.

"Were you a warrior before you became a medicine cat?" Redpaw quizzed. Firecloud just laughed.

"Me? I was raised in the medicine den. Guess I'm just that good." She mewed. "Well anyways, thanks for the herbs. Now go and do whatever it is a mother and daughter does. I wouldn't know."

"Alright. See you, Firecloud." Leafheart dipped her head to the medicine cat, and walked away, Redpaw closely following. It wasn't long before something stumbled into Leafheart.

"O-Oh, hi m-mom." The trembling brown apprentice said.

"Hello Sprucepaw, what is it?" Leafheart tipped her head in concern.

"N-N-Nothing." She glanced back at her brothers, sitting quite far away, but had their eyes burning into Sprucepaw's pelt. "N-Nothing at all."

"Oh… okay." Leafheart said, dismayed. "Would you like to talk about it with Redpaw? She's a very good listener." Sprucepaw turned her eyes to Redpaw, getting a haunted look.

"N-No T-Thanks!" She whipped around and fled. Leafheart stared, sighing. She turned to Redpaw.

"Well Redpaw, I think it's almost time."

"Time? Time for what?"

"Your warrior assessment, of course. I think you've honestly earned it." Leafheart's gaze was filled with warmth and love, and Redpaw felt she could burst with pride.

"Oh thank you!" She said, feeling excited. But she thought, why now? It seemed an odd time for an assessment.

"I'll inform Pigeonwing, and you'll be assessed tomorrow." Leafheart nuzzled Redpaw on the head, and went to find Pigeonwing. Redpaw could hardly contain her excitement. A warrior! She'd have a cool name, and so many more responsibilities, but a cool name! She started thinking; Redfur, Redtail, Redleaf, Redheart... She definitely liked Redheart, that was for sure. Her happiness still intact, she ran off to find Dovepaw and tell her the news.


	10. Chapter 9

"Alright! Everybody at attention!" Treestar ordered. The six apprentices stood ready for assessment. Dovepaw fidgeted beside Redpaw. She learned over to whisper in Redpaw's ear.

"Ugh, I'm really nervous. How about you?" Dovepaw asked.

"I'm fine. I think I know what to do." Redpaw replied confidently. She was, in fact, worried about the possibility of failure, though.

"Your assessment will consist of two of you working together to find ten pieces of prey, five on the ground, five in the trees. Do I may myself clear?" He flashed a look towards Redpaw and Dovepaw, the former taking a bit of offense.

"Now, the pairs are Oakpaw and Graypaw, Birchpaw and Dovepaw, and Sprucepaw and Redpaw. You all will have to be back by sunhigh. Now, begin!" Treestar yelled. The apprentices gathered into their teams and scurried off for the forest, but not before Redpaw was stopped by Treestar. He leaned down into her ear and whispered.

"Do anything to my daughter, and I promise you'll be in the Dark Forest." The leader's eyes flashed with a sick gleam, and Redpaw pelted away from him to catch up. If this was the way Treestar was going to act, she was seriously worried about becoming Sprucepaw's friend.

* * *

It was halfway to sunhigh as Redpaw deposited the last piece of ground prey the team had to collect. Sprucepaw sat quietly and watched as Redpaw scraped dirt over it.

"So… should we begin looking in the trees?" Sprucepaw said. Her voice made Redpaw jump, she hadn't heard it in forever, but it sounded more mature than the kit-sounding one she had heard moons ago.

"Er, yeah. I'll just… go look for a good tree, yeah?" Redpaw stuttered. Sprucepaw's eyes flashed with concern, but she seemed to abandon it shortly after.

"Alright, I'll… climb this tree right here, I guess." She jumped for it, and started clawing her way up. Redpaw padded a little ways into the bushes before a loud yowl sounded.

"Heeeeeelp!" The cry came. Redpaw looked up and saw Sprucepaw dangling from a branch. The young cat's hind paws churned the air until with a snap, the branch broke, and Sprucepaw was plummeting to the hard ground below. Redpaw wasted no time in getting into position under Sprucepaw. Using the few moments she had, Redpaw laid down flat on the ground, bracing for Sprucepaw's impact. With a thud, she landed, driving all the breath out of Redpaw's body. After a while, Sprucepaw spoke.

"You… You… Saved me…" Sprucepaw gasped.

"It… was nothing." Redpaw winced, her body ached all over.

"But… why? Wouldn't it have been better if I… never mind." Sprucepaw said, dismissing the thought.

"If you what?" Redpaw asked. Sprucepaw's downcast look seemed odd compared to the shock from earlier.

"I-It's nothing, honest." She said.

"If you were being so honest, you wouldn't be twitching like that." Sprucepaw's tailtip had an odd twitch to it when she said "honest". "Come on now, tell me." Redpaw pressed.

"I-If I died?"

"Wh-What?!" Redpaw burst out. "What do you mean by that?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just thought it'd be better since you don't like me!" Sprucepaw sounded scared, and Redpaw thought it'd be better if she pursed a more calm line of questioning. She took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Okay, tell me why you think that."

"B-Because I've seen the way you look at me and my brothers. I-I know you think I'm l-l-like them, but I'm n-not, really! I'm s-sorry for what happened when we went across the border, and the time-"

"Woah, woah, slow down. It's okay." Redpaw said. "Wait, are you-" Before she could finish, the dark brown she-cat burst into tears and dug her nose into Redpaw's fur. For as much as she didn't like being something Sprucepaw could cry into, she sat for as long as Sprucepaw needed.

It was almost Sunhigh by the time Sprucepaw had went into sniffing. Pulling herself away, Redpaw started to wash her fur.

"Th-Thanks." Sprucepaw sniffled. "Nobody's ever heard me out before."

"No problem. I'm your sister after all." Redpaw said.

"Hey, do you… like my dad?" Sprucepaw asked hesitantly. Redpaw's ears pricked at the question.

"He's our leader, but… honestly? He's kind of a jerk." Redpaw said bluntly. "That… wasn't too harsh, was it?" But Sprucepaw was… laughing?

"So I'm not the only one. He never listens to me, only to my idiot brothers. I've wanted to stand up for myself, but they… abuse me…" The downcast look returned, and Redpaw brushed up beside her.

"Look, I'll be right by your side. You don't need them if they're that rude to you."

"Okay. Thanks, Redpa- no, sis." She corrected herself.

"Now, we only have a little left before sunhigh, let's get hunting!"

Sprucepaw and Redpaw arrived back at camp with all the prey they had been required (and an extra thrush) to hunt. Upon the reports by all the mentors, Treestar jumped onto the stump and yowled for attention.

"Clanmates, it is time!" He announced. "Oakpaw, Birchpaw, and Sprucepaw! Step forward." The three moved forward awkwardly, the whole clan staring in confused silence.

"Do you three promise to uphold the Warrior Code, even at the cost of… your life?" Treestar seemed to choke them, causing Redpaw to think how much devotion he really had to his kits.

"I do." The three meowed in unison.

"Then by the power granted by StarClan, I now declare you all Warriors by the names of Oakpelt, Birchstripe, and Spruceclaw! May StarClan honor your names forever!" Usually a cheer went up, but astonishingly, nothing was heard.

"Well you mouse-brains, cheer!" Treestar snapped.

"Uh, you might wanna promote the other ones." Icypool mewed. A visible look of anger was on Graypaw's face, and Dovepaw's was plastered with confusion.

"Oh, right. Uh, Grayfeather, Dovetail, and Redheart. StarClan be with you. Now cheer!" An uneasy chorus went up, but Redheart didn't feel like joining in. Did Treestar really forget to give them their names, or did he actually just want to promote his kits?"

"Woohoo, congratulations Redheart!" Pigeonwing said excitedly. "I'm gonna have trouble saying that now, but hey! We're denmates!" She brushed up against Redheart.

"You were the best apprentice I could ever have, Red." Pigeonwing said gently, a hint of pride in her voice.

"T-Thanks." Redheart said.

"Indeed, you show much talent." Swiftfoot said.

"She'll be better than that father of hers hopefully." Blossomheart mewed crossly.

"She's not much, but there's a little there." Firecloud said wryly.

"I'm so proud of you, my daughter." Leafheart said, her eyes shining. Redheart returned the favor and touched noses with her.

"Thank you for letting me get this far." Redheart said, beaming at her mother's love. She expected Treestar to come over, but he was too busy celebrating with his own kits. It was no matter to her though, she had her friends and Leafheart, and that was better than him.

"H-Hey, thanks for letting me have a chance, all the while ago." Dovetail's voice sounded in Redheart's ears. She turned to see her, a mouse dangling from her jaws. "Share?"

"Certainly." Crouching down together, they began to eat when Grayfeather came over. "Oh brother." Redheart thought as Grayfeather sat in front of them.

"Would you lovely she-cats mind if I shared as well?" He asked, his tone was surprisingly gentle.

"Aww, stop it!" Dovetail said, ducking her head to hide her embarrassment. "Sure you can!" Grayfeather nodded as he too came down and began to eat.

"Who knew? Warriors, us." His eye were bright at the thought.

"Seems a little late though. You two were apprentices for two moons before I was." Redheart commented.

"Well, yeah." Dovetail said. "But we are now! This is gonna be so exciting! Think of all the patrols! We don't need permission to go out! We…" Redheart zoned out as Dovetail chattered on. She snapped back to attention as Treestar hopped onto his stump.

"Clanmates! I am sorry to end the celebrations, but I have an announcement!" Treestar yowled.

"Here we go again." Redheart heard Brackenfeather meow to her sister. Minttail only nodded in agreement.

"ThunderClan has waged an undeclared war against us by having Dustwhisker become leader. I will not stand for this, and tomorrow, we-" Treestar was cut short as the camp exploded into loud cries and yowls. Redheart saw multiple hackles raised, and plently of spitting. She saw her mother staring straight ahead, and sprang up to talk to her.

"W-What's going on?" Redheart mewed.

"Something that shouldn't." She replied quietly. Redheart's felt she was about to faint. What rock-headed decision was Treestar making now?


	11. Chapter 10

The roar of voices filled Redheart's ears until they could burst. Treestar kept trying to call order, but his voice was unheard until Blossomheart leaped up on the stump.

"Are you insane?!" She hissed. "Endangering lives? Over a new leader? He hasn't even been leader for a day!"

"Will you shut up? I'M the leader here!" Treestar swiped a claw at Blossomheart's face, blood spraying from her nose. Stumbling, she fell backwards off the stump, Birchstripe running over to help her. He got a short hiss and a sharp jab in the ribs, and Blossomheart got up by herself and headed for the medicine den. Birchstripe, like a love-sick starling, followed her. The clamor rose again, but Treestar shut it down quick.

"SILENCE! You all WILL go out at sunrise, and you WILL fight, you cowards!" Jumping down, he beckoned Oakpelt over to his den, and Oakpelt eagerly got up and followed him.

"Our first battle, as warriors!" Dovetail squealed. "This is SO exciting!" She bounced on her toes, but a sharp look from Grayfeather took her bouncing down to a small hop.

"This isn't right." Grayfeather said, his tail curving around Redheart, he flicked it away shortly. "Sorry." He mumbled, but Redheart was lost in thought again. Another battle? It was starting to seem strange how common they were.

* * *

Redheart crept behind Brackenfeather as the patrol headed for the ThunderClan camp. Two guards stood outside the entrance. Treestar flicked his tail to halt the patrol, then sprang out of the undergrowth. The warriors jumped as Treestar ran towards them, and the rest of the patrol poured into camp, Treestar screeching: "SkyClan, attack!"

Redheart whipped her head around, scanning for any cat. A young tom sprang for her, and Redheart rolled to meet him head on. The heavy fur smothered Redheart, and she clawed back at the Tom's belly. The cat screeched and jumped off, facing Redheart. He took a moment to introduce himself before attacking.

"The name's Sparkfur, and you're a trespassing mange-pelt!" He swiped at Redheart, who was caught off guard and slammed back down on to the cold stone. Sparkfur moved in for a good swipe at her belly, but Redheart smashed her paw into his nose. Screeching, Sparkfur ran, tears of pain streaming from his eyes. Redheart felt a little more confident, and ran to fight a she-cat tussling with Nighteyes. Jumping on the she-cat's back, she started to shred her. With Nighteyes' assistance, they drove the she-cat before she jumped around them and ran off.

"Good job!" Nighteyes congratulated her, but it was cut short when a blood-curdling yowl sounded. Redheart whipped around, instantly recognizing it.

"Dovetail!" She sprinted over to see her friend stumbling out of the medicine den. A cut in her throat was gushing blood, and she fell over with a thud.

"Dovetail! DOVETAIL!" Redheart screeched. This wasn't happening! This ISN'T happening! But the blood came faster, and Dovetail turned her head to look up at her.

"We… had… some fun times… sorry I wasn't… the best friend to you…" she rasped. A loud "NO!" came, and the battle froze as Mistyeye ran, fast as lightning, over to her kit's body.

"Dovetail! Please don't die! We- We'll get you to Firecloud, she'll heal you!" Mistyeye shook her, the young she-cat groaning slightly. "Dovetail… no… please… please don't die." Mistyeye sobbed, burying her nose in Dovetail's fur. Grayfeather stumbled over, a long gash in his pelt, sitting beside his mother, he wrapped his tail around her, his eyes wet. Redheart was choked, why? Why? She looked for her killer, and saw a small apprentice staring at her, a haunted look in his eyes. A memory flooded back of a gathering, and her despair turned to rage.

"YOU!" She screamed. Lunging, she forced the cat on his back. "Wingpaw! Why did you do it? WHY?!" She yelled. Wingpaw shrank and stammered. The medicine cat, Stonestep, shoved himself between the two.

"That cat was trying to get into our herb store." He meowed roughly.

"But he didn't have to kill her!" Redheart shot back. Stonestep dipped his head sadly.

"He struck out. Truly, he did not mean to kill her. You have my deepest apologies." Stonestep mewed. Redheart was taken aback. Staggering, she found herself staring at the still fighting Treestar and Duststar. With a shove, Duststar fell off the highledge. Hitting the ground with a thud. He lay still for a moment, before getting back up. Treestar just snorted.

"Bah, I knew StarClan would give you nine lives. Pathetic." He sniffed. "Clanmates! Let's go back to camp, we've done what we had to do."

"What about Dovetail?" Nighteyes meowed, sticking close to the grieving Mistyeye.

"Leave her, she wasn't much." Treestar said. As he jumped down, Mistyeye stood up. Her eye cold and held a rage that Redheart had never seen before.

"What. Did. You. Say?" She said quietly.

"I said she wasn't much. Now get back to camp." The rage in Mistyeye seemed to explode, and she walked stiffly up to Treestar, right up to his face.

"You… you… MONSTER. You aren't a leader, YOU aren't worth anything! You wage stupid wars, for stupid reasons!" She yelled. For the first time, Treestar looked nervous.

"H-How dare you? I-"

"Let me finish! My daughter died because of your silly games. How would you like it, having the pain of losing a kit? How would it feel to you, the 'great' Treestar? Huh? HUH?" Her voice raised to a screech, and before anyone could stop her, she screamed her final words to him.

"WHY DON'T YOU FEEL MY PAIN!?" Bringing her paw up, she slammed it back down on Treestar's head. It thumped on the stone, Treestar lying still.

"You… you killed him!" A ThunderClan warrior gasped.

"He'll come back, and if he doesn't, I don't care. Redheart, please… drag her body back. I want to see her buried before I leave." Mistyeye said, looking at the young warrior.

"O-Ok." Redheart stammered. Picking up Dovetail's body by the scruff, she started to drag it off until Grayfeather stopped her.

"I won't let you do this alone. Let me help." He said, staring into her eyes. Redheart looked back, and nodded. Together they put the body on their shoulders, padding off. They could hear Leafheart call the clan to retreat, and Treestar yowling curses. But Redheart was too upset to care for her leader's dumb ramblings.


	12. Chapter 11

The weight of Dovetail's body was nothing compared to the heaviness in Redheart. Mistyeye walked beside her weeping, and Grayfeather's eyes unreadable. They reached the camp, and Grayfeather stopped abruptly, almost dumping Dovetail's body on the ground.

"What?!" Redheart snapped, glaring at him.

"I know a vigil would be proper, but with the way 'he' is, I don't think we'll be able to have one. We should bury her now." Grayfeather said.

"Are you crazy?! Mistyeye would never-"

"He's right, Redheart." Mistyeye said, coming up behind them. "I doubt I'll be here for my daughter's vigil. We should bury her and have a short one." Redheart nodded hesitantly. It wasn't proper procedure, but right now, this was the right thing to do. They laid her Dovertail's body down gently, then began digging a grave. Most of the clan was entering camp as they finished putting the last bit of dirt over her body. Mistyeye said her final goodbyes, and Redheart crouched down to put her words in too.

"Goodbye Dovetail, you were always my best friend." She put her paw on the grave, was she feeling… lonely? Grayfeather came up beside her. He brushed up and sat, looking at the grave.

"She was my sister, my grief is as strong as yours." Redheart looked to see tears in the warrior's eyes. "I'll… I'll miss her." Redheart pressed into him, a silence lasting for what felt like forever. A clamor from camp snapped them both out of it, and they rushed in to see what was the matter.

* * *

"I'll SHRED you!" Treestar screeched at Mistyeye. Mistyeye flattened her ears.

"I was doing what's right. You're no leader, you don't deserve those lives!" She shot back. A fire lit in Treestar's eyes.

"When I get done you'll be nothing but- YOU!" He caught Redheart's eye as she entered camp.

"What do you want?" Redheart said, staring at the leader with cold green eyes.

"This is all YOUR fault! If you hadn't suggested that ridiculous attack, Dovetail would still be with us!" Treestar snarled.

"Wh- WHAAAAAAAAAAT?" The camp was alight with shouts and cries. Redheart remembered a similar situation. It had happened before this battle, but she wasn't going to let it go on.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Redheart shouted. The clan began to quiet down, and Redheart shoved to the front of the crowd. "I'm sick of you and your games Treestar. You think you can pin this on me. Well then prove it!" A gasp went up, and Treestar stared, then he laughed.

"What's so funny?!" She yelled.

"Ahahahaha, you want proof? I've got proof! Oakpelt! Birchstripe!" Treestar called. The brothers came to the front and shoved her out of the way.

"She told you." Oakpelt sneered.

"I heard her aswell, what traitorous scum!" Birchstripe hissed.

"I- what?! You lie!" Redheart meowed in astonishment. She could hear… doubt? No, no, this was all wrong! They were lying! Why couldn't they see that?!

"Well then, why don't you 'prove' it? Hahahaha!" Oakpelt laughed.

"They're trying to intimidate me! I won't- I can't!" Redheart thought, but they had a point. She couldn't prove her side of the story. Redheart dropped her head in shame, this was the end, surely?

"Heh, I see. So you give up? That's just fine." Treestar flashed a sinister look. "I suppose the only fair punishment for you…"

"IS DEATH!"

Leaping into the air, Treestar landed in front of Redheart. As she prepared for the blow, a rush of wind came, and she was knocked to the side. Grayfeather rushed over and helped her up.

"Wha- Firecloud?!" Redheart gasped.

"Don't even try it." Firecloud said, blocking Treestar's paw.

"Argh, Firecloud! You, my own sister, a traitor!"

"Aww, that's cute. You acknowledge me as your sister when it matters."

"You… dare defy me?"

"Yes, I do. From the day I was born I never mattered to you or Sweetheart. I'll enjoy giving you and her moons of payback!"

"Nnngrh. Firecloud! FIRECLOUD! I'll bury you with my own paws! Death! Death!" Swiping, Treestar caught Firecloud on the cheek, but Firecloud was faster, and jerked away before Treestar could crush her head into the ground. Scaling the stump, Firecloud hurled herself at Treestar, knocking the tom to the ground. He spun to shake her, but Firecloud was ready. Jumping, she avoided Treestar's spin, and slammed back into him, pinning the leader to the ground. Treestar tried to move, but with Firecloud's claws raking his head, he flopped in defeat.

"So you think you won? Pathetic." He scoffed from under Firecloud's paws. "I'll just rise up, and kick your-"

"Enough." Heads turned as Leafheart padded into camp. Her expression was like stone, and her words burned like a forest fire. Taking advantage, Treestar raised and threw Firecloud off, Pigeonwing and Ashpelt coming to assist her.

"What do you mean, 'enough'?" Treestar asked roughly.

"I mean what I said. Enough is enough. I saw the way you treated Mistyeye, Redheart, and Firecloud. You're nothing but heartless, and I… I refuse to be your deputy!" She shouted. Shocked mews roared in Redheart's ears, but she blocked them out to hear her mother.

"You… give up the position? Ha, haha. Hahahahaha!"

"Eh?" Leafheart cocked her head.

"I was going to replace you anyways! But it's no concern for you now since you've given up. To think, I was going to get you pregnant, and take away your position…" Treestar sighed, looking his claws.

"Then you won't like this either. I'm through being your mate, and loyal to you as well!"

"You don't mean that." Confusion flashed on Treestar's face.

"Oh I mean it. You're an insane brat who gets cats killed. I'd rather die." Leafheart spat. Treestar's eyes lit up with rage, then changed to amusement.

"Heh. Heheh. Heheheheh. That's. Just. Fine!" He laughed sinisterly. "Then you can just leave along with that ratty old blind cat."

"I will. Clanmates! It is your decision!" She turned to the clan. "I will be moving to another part of the territory. If anyone wants to leave with me, choose now!"

"I was always going." Redheart said.

"I will." Brackenfeather said.

"I'm going with you!" Minttail mewed.

"Nobody messes with my apprentice." Pigeonwing shot a glare at Treestar.

"Messing with her means messing with me." Ashpelt meowed darkly.

"I cannot allow such transgressions to happen and sit by. You have my vote Leafheart." Nighteyes meowed confidently.

"You're heartless. I'd never stay with a psycho!" Grayfeather said, staring directly at Treestar.

"I agree." Icypool said.

"I'll go wherever Pigeonwing goes." Swiftfoot said, earning a touched look from Pigeonwing.

"I've always wanted a new leader, now I'll have one." Blossomheart sneered at Treestar.

"Hold it!" Birchstripe shouted. "C'mon, Blossy. You know you wanna stay with me. Right?" Blossomheart's face was plastered with shock.

"Stay? With YOU? The same cat who tried to get me pregnant! No chance!" She slashed Birchstripe's nose, blood spraying out. Birchstripe flattened his ears and backed away.

"Fine, you would've been a terrible mother anyway…" He muttered.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Blossomheart roared, she shot for the warrior, restrained by Ashpelt and Icypool. Birchstripe just flashed her a look of triumph.

"So, you're taking all my warriors? That's ok. I'll find more." Treestar smirked.

"Your medicine cat as well." Firecloud said.

"What?! You can't go!"

"I wasn't asking you. Leafheart's always been the better leader, and I won't be part of your games."

"Argh… fine! Leave to die with them!" Treestar glared, then his eyes lit up. "Now go! GO! I SAID GO!" He screamed. The cats filed out of camp and turned deeper into the forest.

"H-Hey! Waaaaaait!" A voice cried.

"Who's that?" Leafheart asked. A blue-gray shape ran up.

"You forgot me! I can't believe it! I don't wanna be with a sicko!" The cat exclamed.

"Sorry, um…" Leafheart paused, then leaned over to Redheart. "Who's this again?" She whispered.

"It's Bluestream. One of my patients." Firecloud said.

"She's been sick this entire time?" Blossomheart asked.

"Not really. She just didn't want to return to her warrior duties so soon. She helped out, a bit. Though I did threaten if she messed anything up I'd have to… take care of her." Firecloud flashed a wry curl of her lip, and Redheart was thoroughly spooked.

"It's crazy out in battle! I didn't wanna go back to that!" She fluffed out her fur. "Anyway, I'm coming!"

"Me too!"

"Spruceclaw!" Redheart cried.

"Please mom, let me come with you!" Spruceclaw pleaded. Leafheart looked at her with love, but she shook her head and her expression hardened.

"How do I know you aren't a spy?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Mom please! I don't ever want to do anything with them! You have to believe me, plea-"

"You aren't going anywhere!" Oakpelt burst out of the bushes, catching Spruceclaw's tail. She yelped, and Birchstripe raced around her, shoving her back.

"Mom! MOOOOOOOM!" Spruceclaw yelled.

"Spruceclaw!" Leafheart cried. She took a step, but Nighteyes blocked her path.

"We can attack for her, but would it be wise with the shape we're in? He could have reinforcements."

"…You're right. I cannot worry about them. Not for the sake of my group. From now on, they are not my kits."

"You're… disowning them?!" Redheart gasped.

"Until I get my daughter back, I will not worry. Oakpelt and Birchstripe are dead to me." Leafheart's gaze was pure stone, and with the confidence of a leader, took her group to a small location to set up camp.

"Hold on."

"Oh what now?!" Leafheart hissed. Cloudstar appeared from the bushes.

"If you need help, my territory is open. Please, the pleasure is mine."

"Erm… thanks?" Leafheart dipped her head awkwardly. Cloudstar returned it and bounded away.

"That was awfully nice." Redheart commented to Grayfeather as they padded along in the woodsz

"Yeah, I know right? Hey, look there! A mouse! I'm gonna catch it!" Grayfeather pounced and gave chase.

"Grayfeather, stop! That's ThunderClan territory!" She raced to catch up, only to meet Grayfeather.

"Didn't catch the mouse, but look at this leaf!" He showed her a little leaf with a strange red pattern. "Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah… yeah, it is. We should keep it." Redheart said.

"Why don't I tuck it behind your ear?" Grayfeather suggested.

"How will it stay on?" She asked. Grayfeather reached under a shrub and pulled out some cobweb.

"If you don't mind?" Redheart nodded, and Grayfeather stuck some cobweb to the leaf, then gently tucked it behind Redheart's ear. "Now it won't be uncomfortable, and you look good!" Redheart laughed.

"Haha, thank you." She said. Looking at him now, it wasn't the bothersome apprentice she knew before. Rather, a strong and dedicated warrior. Walking back to the group, Redheart realized she felt… happy. If this was StarClan's choice for her, then she was completely fine with it.


	13. Chapter 12

Redheart walked back into the small camp, depositing a mouse on the small prey pile. Blossomheart and Brackenfeather were trying to build dens on the other side, and Nighteyes and Leafheart were talking beside a small tunnel. Thinking it'd be wise to find out what was happening, she padded over to the two.

"What's up?" Redheart said, sitting down as both cats glanced her way.

"Oh, we were discussing the gathering coming up." Nighteyes said.

"You want to go? It'd be strange if SkyClan showed up in two separate groups, right?" Redheart wondered.

"Well, yes. But as of now we aren't SkyClan cats. Just… a group." Leafheart mewed.

"Right. By the way Redheart, I think we need another hunting patrol. Mind taking out Grayfeather and Pigeonwing?" Nighteyes asked.

"Certainly." Redheart turned only to bump into Grayfeather.

"Wha- watch out!" She spat. The tom chuckled.

"Easy now, sorry I bumped into you." Grayfeather said. Redheart felt bad for her sharp tone now.

"I-It's okay. Nighteyes wants a hunting patrol, you want to come?" She asked.

"I'd love to, I've been needing to sink my claws into something." Grayfeather laughed. He played it off as a joke, but Redheart saw the anger stowed away in his eyes.

"Stay by the entrance, I'll go fetch Pigeonwing." Redheart ran off to find her former mentor, only to find her stuck in a bramble bush near the wall of them camp.

"Some things never change, do they?" She mewed, slightly amused.

"Oh, Redheart? That you? Help me out… please!" Pigeonwing said, her voice sounding a bit desperate. Redheart thought that she'd been stuck a while by the sound of it. After a while of tugging, with help from Minttail, the she-cat was finally out.

"Thanks, sorry you had to do that… again." Pigeonwing meowed, embarassed.

"Being the fifth time in a moon I've had to rescue you, it's not big deal." Redheart said. "Come on, let's get this hunting patrol moving."

* * *

Out in the forest, the trio had gathering a sizable pile of prey when a rustle sounded near the ThunderClan border.

"Hey, Pigeonwing, guard the prey. Grayfeather, follow me." Redheart instructed. Creeping through the bushes, they found a small brown cat wandering towards the SkyClancamp.

"Hold it!" Redheart shouted. The tom jumped and spun around.

"Ayeep! Don't hurt me!" The cat ducked down and covered his head with his paws.

"Wait… Wingpaw?" Redheart narrowed her eyes at him. "What gives you the right to trepass here?"

"I'm not trespassing!… Well maybe I am but still! And it's Wingflight!" He meowed weakly.

"I don't care." Redheart said. "What's your deal?"

"I actually wanted to see your kind. News is SkyClan had a big split, and most of the clan went away."

"How do you know that?" Grayfeather asked, unsheathing his claws.

"Erm…" Wingflight was getting extremely nervous now.

"Ease off him Grayfeather, he's got something important to say, and he better say it before I claw him off the border." Redheart shot a glare at the ThunderClan medicine cat.

"Sheesh, not the friendly type are we?" Wingflight shook his head and took a breath. "Anyway, I wanted you to see this." He pawed at a small leaf bundle on the ground.

"This is?" Grayfeather asked, sniffing the strange parcel.

"I was poking around Flarestar's body before it was buried, and I found these in his mouth." Wingflight unwrapped the bundle to show some half-chewed deathberries.

"What the-?!" Redheart gasped.

"Exactly. You heard he died from a slash wound by a rogue, but I don't think that's true. I believe…"

"He was poisoned." Grayfeather finished.

"But… no random rogue would poison a clan leader, especially if they could simply slash the throat open." Redheart reasoned.

"I'm thinking…" Wingflight said, "That the slash wound was a cover-up for the poisoning."

"What?! No rogue is smart enough to come up with a plan like that!" Redheart exclaimed.

"Then if it wasn't a rogue, who else?"

"Redheart? Grayfeather? What's going on?" The sound of Pigeonwing caught Wingflight's attention.

"I got to go, but think about it, please?" Snatching up the bundle, he dashed off across the border, Pigeonwing appearing a moment later.

"Who was that?" She asked.

"Um…-" Redheart stammered.

"A rogue, nothing we couldn't handle." Grayfeather cut in.

"Ah… okay. I was just wondering if you lovebirds were having some… alone time." Pigeonwing said wryly.

"What!?" Redheart's ears flicked up in alarm. "We aren't-"

"I like that sound of that." Grayfeather mewed, amused. Redheart flashed her teeth before ducking her head away. She was NOT ready to be romantic.

Shaking her head, she wondered what Wingflight had said. A poisoning? That was strange, and what was more confusing, how did some cat pull it off?

* * *

The cats approached the treebridge, Grayfeather leaned over and whispered in Redheart's ear.

"How well do you think this is going to go?" He said.

"About as well as a twoleg tree fire." She replied before hopping onto the treebridge. She walked across, catching Pigeonwing before she took a dive, and hopped off, popping out of the bushes a moment later. All the clans were there, with SkyClan looking rather thin with only the leader present. Treestar glanced down and saw Leafheart, showing his teeth and… laughing? Redheart shook her head and went to sit with her clanmates beside ThunderClan. Leafheart bounded up the tree, taking a spot given to her by Bluestar.

"Let the gathering begin!" Bluestar called. "Who would like to go first?"

"Ooh, me! Me!" Slowstar mewed excitedly. "So, we found some really strange scent on our territory near horseplace. It's kinda cat scented but not really? Watch out for that." He sat back down, looking proud of himself.

"Right…" Bluestar said. "RiverClan is doing fine, and we too have found some unfamiliar scent."

"As have we." Duststar meowed. "These rogues, or whatever they are, will expect due punishment for trespassing."

"SkyClan has had none of this. It sounds like a load of mouse-dung." Treestar sniffed. Duststar's fur rose on his back, and he was about to retort when Cloudstar spoke up.

"We have not scented anything unusual. It smells pretty normal actually." He sat back down, looking straight ahead.

"Anyway, I think we have another problem to attend to." Treestar whipped his head to look directly at Leafheart. "I think we should send away the traitors that dare come to our gathering." He snarled.

"Sorry Treestar, but we are still clan cats, and we will attend the gathering." Leafheart mewed coolly.

"Don't you speak to me you unfaithful little brat! You left me-"

"Because you're a stuck-up fool." Leafheart fired back.

"Why I-"

"I vote we chase them off the territories." Cloudstar said. Redheart shot a questioning look toward Grayfeather. Had Cloudstar changed his mind about his aid? Before she could speak up, Treestar led out a chant.

"Chase them out! Chase them out!" Cloudstar joined in, and few ShadowClan warriors, but it didn't last long before the mews died out and Treestar let out a small hiss.

"Bah, you all are idiots anyway. I second Cloudstar's motion." He said.

"I for one cannot. It isn't right to chase away the best of your cats." Duststar mewed.

"Agreed. I for one cannot allow a good friend and my sister to be driven away. RiverClan is always happy to help." Bluestar said, giving an affectionate look at Mistyeye, who nodded in return.

"So it's tied." Treestar growled. "Well Slowstar? Speak up!" He snapped. The tiny leader jumped and started to stutter.

"Uh, erm… Ah yeah, I, oh…"

"Spit it out!"

"I think that they should stay!" He burst out.

"Idiot!" Treestar howled. "You'll regret this WindClan scum! Come on SkyClan, we're leaving." He jumped down, Cloudstar following, and the two clans started to depart.

"HOLD IT!" Redheart shouted. The gathering turned their eyes to her as she spoke. "What do you mean SkyClan? You're the only 'SkyClan' cat here!"

"Oh, you picked up on that? Don't worry, 'daughter', don't you worry." Treestar flashed a sick grin, and she swore she could she a pair of eyes flash behind him. Whipping his tail in her face, he pushed through the bushes and left.

"That's an end to the gathering I suppose." Bluestar called. Everyone began to leave, Redheart pushed into the bushes herself, a nagging thought pressing in her head.

* * *

"You have to do what?! While we are not fully guarded?" Leafheart said in shock.

"Are you crazy?" Nighteyes mewed.

"No. I have to do this." Redheart said, determination filling her eyes. "I have to speak to StarClan."

"Let me go with you." Firecloud spoke up. "I think you'll need the assistance." Redheart nodded.

"Alright, let's move then." She mewed. Turning for the enterance, she ignored the shocked and whispering meows, only checking to see if Firecloud was behind her. Time was running out, and Redheart broke into a sprint for the Moonpool.

"Hold it!" Redheart stopped in her tracks as Firecloud panted up behind her.

"Sheesh, can't you go a little slower?" She muttered.

"What? What is it. We don't have much time you know." Redheart said pointedly.

"I told you about Sweetheart, but I didn't tell you about… Shineface, the deputy before Treestar."

"Shineface, I'm assuming he's your-"

"Father, yes. He was a dirty deputy. Had affairs with a she-cat from every clan. Who knows how many brothers and sisters I have?" Firecloud's mew trailed off in a hint of disgust.

"When did you learn all this?" Redheart asked.

"...Last half-moon gathering. Brightpelt explained it all to me. He told me something was coming, and I had to know my true heritage."

"Then we gotta go double time to the Moonpool. I need answers, now."


	14. Chapter 13

The Moonpool looked cold and foreboding as Redheart approached it, Firecloud at her side. She fluffed out her fur and looked towards Redheart.

"Come on, let's share dreams with StarClan." Firecloud meowed briskly. Settling down beside her, Redheart touched her nose to the Moonpool, and she was knocked out cold by the freezing water.

* * *

Redheart opened her eyes, fluffing our her pelt by how chilly it was. The ground sparkled like frost was on it, and the trees seemed to have starlight in them. Redheart guessed this was StarClan. She jumped as Firecloud came up.

"Nice to see you made it, now tell me exactly why you need to be here." She asked.

"I… I need to speak with the cat who made Treestar deputy."  
"Whatever for?"

"I believe there's something more to it, and you haven't noticed he's… gone a bit… crazy?" Redheart said quietly, awkwardly remembering Firecloud was Treestar's sister.

"I always did, but nobody really agreed with me. Out of fear I suppose." Firecloud's voice hinted bitterness. "I never knew why he was made deputy, but now's the time to find answers. You'll need to see Alderstar."

"Alright." Redheart started to follow Firecloud, but a loud squeal of excitement halted her.

"Redheart? Is that you?!" Dovetail burst out of the bushes, tackling Redheart. Redheart rolled with her and sprang off, purring.

"Dovetail! I see you haven't lost your enthusiasm." Redheart mewed.

"You haven't lost your reflexes either!" She said happily. "How's the clan?" Redheart gaze darkened.

"Not well. Leafheart left and formed her own group of cats."

"Yikes, sounds rough." Dovetail said. "So I heard you're investigating Treestar?"

"I need to know what happened before he became leader, and how." Redheart's voice became thick with anger.

"Will it help you in any way?" Dovetail asked.

"If I can get any information on him, I might be able to use it to my advantage."

"Oh." Dovetail mewed, flicking her ears in the usual confused way she had when she was alive. Redheart was hit with another pang of sadness as she thought about it. "Anyway, go find your answers, and kick his butt for me! I still remember what he did." Dovetail said, digging her claws into the starry earth. Redheart tilted her head at what she said.

"What he did?" She asked.

"Before the battle that got me killed, he… he asked me to attack their herb stores." Dovetail said, ducking her head to the side.

"He did WHAT?!" Redheart yelled. "And you LISTENED to him!?"

"I'm sorry! But… it was an order. I thought it was odd but… I didn't think about it." Dovetail looked at Redheart with regret in her eyes. "I made a bad choice, didn't I?"

"...Perhaps it was StarClan's choice for you to die. But I can't believe he… he basically murdered you…" Redheart mewed in disbelief. Dovetail shook her head.

"It doesn't matter now, just go get him!" Dovetail shouted, the fire in her eyes giving Redheart determination. Redheart nodded and rubbed her cheek against Dovetail's, before running to catch Firecloud.

* * *

Pushing through the bushes, she picked up on some unusual noise. Following the sound, she realized it was hissing and bounded to locate it. Skidding through the trees, she saw Firecloud spitting at a large dark brown tabby tom..

"You idiot! What made you think doing that was a good idea?!" Firecloud hissed.

"I don't have to answer to you." The tabby hissed back. Redheart rushed up and pushed Firecloud to the side, who was still spitting.

"Easy now. Now what's going on?" She faced the tom.

"Redheart, meet Alderstar. The former leader, and the worst decision maker in the clans." Firecloud growled. Redheart dipped her head to the leader.

"Alderstar." She mewed coolly. Alderstar narrowed his eyes, seeming to try and get a better look at her.

"Redheart. I see you're still the prodding around in places you don't belong."

"I only want to find the truth." Redheart stated. "I'm here to ask you a few questions."

"Fine by me. I have nothing to hide." Alderstar sniffed. Redheart sat down and began to think.

"What were you and Firecloud discussing before I arrived?" Redheart asked.

"We weren't discussing much, something came up that pushed her over the edge." He mewed, shooting a glare at Firecloud, who growled in return.

" _He's being pretty vague about this, I'm doubtful…_ " Redheart thought. "Alderstar, I think it was more than that. I think you can tell me what it was instead of skirting around the issue." Redheart said .

"Alright, alright. It was about Treestar. There, that's it." Alderstar flicked his tail in annoyance.

"Now, what is it you were discussing about Treestar?"

"Well, I was saying that he was a capable cat for the position of deputy." Alderstar meowed, shifting on his paws.

" _Definitely a lie here."_ She looked directly at Alderstar. "Why lie to us, Alderstar? You're only hurting yourself here. Fess up and we can get this over with."

"I'm lying? What proves that?" Alderstar asked, narrowing his eyes.

"There has been 3 battles in my lifetime, most likely a lot before then, cats have died because of his petty reasons to do so, and you want to tell me he's capable? I'm sure the testimony of other cats would prove he isn't so capable." Redheart argued.

"So you're questioning MY decisions?" Alderstar shouted, his voice rising with anger.

"I'll question them after I ask you this. How did he become deputy?"

"I made him deputy because of his own abilities." Alderstar answered.

" _I don't know… seems pretty suspicious. I'll press him for more information."_ She decided to take a roundabout approach. "Could you tell me about Shineface?"

"Backing out? Shineface was my former deputy, before Treestar. I honored-." He stopped abruptly. " _Honored. I suppose you mean his final wish? Heh."_ Redheart looked at Alderstar with complete confidence. "It's not good to lie two times in a row."

"You want to prove that hotshot?" Alderstar challenged her again.

"Shineface was your former deputy, also Treestar's father. It was more than that wasn't it, he had dirt on you and you made an unstable cat deputy. Now you better come clean to me or my partner Firecloud will break your nose." Redheart stepped aside to show Firecloud, who bared her teeth at the dead leader.

"Bah, you've got no proof I was forced to-"

"Cough it up, Alderstar."

"B-Brightpelt?" Alderstar studdered.

"Tell her the truth."

"Bu-"

"Tell her." Brightpelt said. Alderstar stared for a moment longer, before sighing in frustration.

"I suppose you would've figured everything out eventually. When I was young, I had an romance with a ShadowClan she-cat. Nothing came of it, but Shineface -Shinepaw then- found out and hed it over my head for moons. When he was slain in battle, he made me announce Treeclaw as the new deputy."

"I see…" Redheart said, but Firecloud barged in front of her.

"So you never thought to remove his from his position after Shineface was dead?"

"How could I? It would've been disrespectful and I would've looked bad."

"So you valued your own status above your clan's wellbeing. Pathetic." Brightpelt rasped.

" _I see where Firecloud gets her bluntness."_ Redheart thought.

"…Believe what you like. I'm off." Alderstar turned and walked into the bushes, Firecloud throwing curses till he was out of sight.

"We should get going." Firecloud panted.

"Not so fast, girls." Brightpelt said.

" _Eh?"_ Redheart wondered. " _What does this old cst want with us?"_

"Brightpelt. What do you have today?" Firecloud asked.

"Don't act like it's some old mouse-dung I'm giving you." Brightpelt snorted. "I need to show your partner something." Redheart was about to ask what, but suddenly she was whisked away, looking above… the horseplace? A cloud moved steadily towards her, and she became engulfed. She blinked to clear the mist away, and then she was back in StarClan's hunting grounds.

"Wha- What was that?!" She gasped.

"Figure it out." Brightpelt grunted. The StarClan cat began to fade along with everything else, and Redheart woke.

"You find all your answers?" Firecloud asked.

"Yes. Thank you Firecloud, you've been a big help."

"It was your idea. Now go figure out that vision." Redheart sprang for the rocky steps.

"Oh, and Redheart…" Firecloud began.

"Yeah?"

"Please… be careful." Redheart detected a bit of care in the prickly medicine cat's voice. She turned back around and touched noses with her.

"I will, promise." She bounded for the exit and back to Leafheart's Camp. She's cleared up a few mysteries, but it had only made more. When would she be able to end this and confront Treestar?


	15. Chapter 14

Bursting into camp, Redheart skidded to a halt, the heads of every cat swiveling to see.

"Redheart!" A happy cry from Grayfeather reached her ears, and the tom ran up to her, rubbing her cheek. Redheart just sat awkwardly until Grayfeather realized she was uncomfortable and backed away, embarrassed.

"Did you find anything out?" Leafheart quizzed as she composed herself.

"Well I found out the last leader before Treestar was also a complete idiot, so there's that." Redheart reported, still feeling the slightest bit of contempt for Alderstar.

"Anything else?" Nighteyes asked.

"Some vision about a cloud and some place that looked like the horseplace." She added.

"StarClan's always been vague but it's almost as if they WANT to mess with us, and what a time too." Firecloud commented, walking into camp and sitting beside her makeshift den.

"That… doesn't really help us." Leafheart flattened her ears and turned back to whisper with Nighteyes.

"Hey, mom? What can I do?" Redheart asked. Admittedly she felt bad nothing came of her trip.

"Well, you can get Firecloud over here, I think she needs to be in on this conversation. But if you want to help, we could always use more prey." Leafheart told her.

"Alright. Grayfeather, want to come?"

"Eh?- Oh! Yeah, sure!" Grayfeather jumped up, flicking his ears in anticipation for the hunt.

* * *

The small patrol was back with a decent amount of prey, and was setting it down on the prey pile when a yowl sounded from outside the camp.

"What was that?" Leafheart wondered. Redheart bounded out to see a few cats bunched together, and another small group staring at them. She'd never seen such a sight. The leader was bloody and battered, and Redheart could see a she-cat curled protectively around two small scraps of fur. Even she was in poor condition, what had happened? Leafheart stepped forward.

"Excuse me, but do you have-"

"Please! Please, you gotta let us in! Please!" The tom screeched in Leafheart's face. Leafheart flattened her ears and back away.

"Okay, no need to shout. Just tell us why you're here."

"Tell you? Tell you?! I look like half a cat, my mate is scratched to shreds, and you-"

"Calm down dear." the she-cat looked towards her mate. "Let's explain the situation to this group before we aggravate them further." The tom flashed a look before lowering his ears in defeat.

"You… You're right, Honeyheart." He looked back to the small crowd. "Could you help us, please?"

"I suppose we can, if you'll come in and explain the situation." Leafheart said, her gaze unwavering.

"Thank you." The tom picked up a small kit in his jaws, and he and the remaining part of his family entered into the camp.

"My name is Sharpbriar, this is my mate Honeyheart, and our two kits Raccoonkit and Saltkit." Sharpbriar seemed a bit friendlier after a meal and some healing from Firecloud.

"Saltkit? Who names a kit that?" Redheart wondered as the small family was approached by Leafheart.

"I suppose you'd like to explain now?" She asked.

"Yes, yes." Sharpbriar took a deep breath before speaking. "Before you all were driven out of your clan, we had problems in ShadowClan too. Cloudstar was acting different, and after siding with Treestar at the gathering, then… the rogues came."

"Rogues?" Leafheart's ear flicked up in surprise.

"It got worse. Treestar then showed up, and drove away anyone who didn't side with him."

"That fox-heart!" Firecloud hissed as she tended to the kits.

"I was lucky to get out of there with my family, before he completely shredded us. That's it." Sharpbriar finished, licking a paw.

"Hold on, something doesn't fit." Redheart said. "Why would Cloudstar be in league with Treestar? It doesn't make any sense."

"He's had a sudden change since Flarestar's passing." Honeyheart remarked. Leafheart looked to Redheart.

"Redheart, I know this is a lot to ask, but… could you spy on ShadowClan for me? This is very suspicious, and I think we could use the info." Redheart stared at her mother for a while, then nodded.

"You can count on me." She replied.

"Is anyone up to assist her?" Leafheart called.

"I'll go." Blossomheart mewed. "I could use the tear of flesh beneath my claws."

"You aren't going without me sis!" Icypool said firmly. Blossomheart looked at her, then grunted.

"You always wanted to trail after your big sis huh?"

"Very well, that settles it." Leafheart rose to her paws. "You will leave at sunset. I'm counting on you."

The needles felt different under Redheart's paws as the group snuck towards ShadowClan. Redheart kept whipping her head back to check if her group was still there, Blossomheart usually huffing at her and Icypool looking reassured someone was checking on her. Finding a spot near the camp, Redheart crept closer and peered through a small gap in the thorns. She could see a few ShadowClan cats, but… there was a fair number of cats unknown to her and… Birchstripe? Spruceclaw?! The she-cat looked scared as she was guarded by her brother and an unknown tom. She crept back to the group to report.

"So, find anything out?" Blossomheart asked.

"Yeah, and it just got a lot more personal." Redheart growled.

"What?!" Icypool squeaked. "Redheart, don't-"

"I'm already mad Icypool, but I've got a plan." Redheart cut her off.

"Give me the details." Blossomheart sat down and began to wash her paws.

"There's some strange cats, rogues I assume, and Birchstripe and Spruceclaw are there."

"I'm guessing you believe she's being held captive?" Blossomheart mewed between licks.

"If being guarded in the apprentice den is anything, yeah, I think so." Redheart said.

"S-So… what are you going to do?" Icypool said hesitantly.

"We break her out." Both she-cats stared at her in silence until Blossomheart spoke up.

"You're absolutely crazy."

"Maybe so, but I _have_ to save her. She's my sister." Redheart mewed determinedly. Blossomheart looked to her own sister, then nodded.

"I understand. Now tell us your plan."

"If we can sneak around the other side of the camp, we might be able to break a hole in the den and let her escape. There's plently of foilage to hide us."

"How will we not alert the guards?" Icypool asked, confused.

"Birchstripe's lazy, I saw him drifting off. That other cat looked like he did one too many night patrols, so I think we're good."

"So you're basing your plan on luck?" Blossomheart's tone was dismissive, but then she gave Redheart a delighted smirk. "I like it."

"Then let's get to it team." Redheart said. Creeping around behind the camp, they reached the apprentice's den, and began to slowly work the tendrils out. A soft crack or two later and a sizable hole was left. Redheart stuck her head in to call out.

"Spruceclaw." Redheart hissed. "Spruceclaw!"

"Eep!" The dark brown warrior jumped and spun around. "Redheart, wha-?!"

"Everything okay in here?" The suspicious tom asked, peering inside. Spruceclaw spun again to face him.

"It's okay, Chester! R-Really!"

"…If ya say so." He yawned before turning his head back. Redheart breathed a sigh of relief that the tom was so dumb he didn't notice them.

"What are you doing here?" Spruceclaw hissed.

"Rescuing you, of course! What does it look like, I'm just hanging out?"

"This is insane! First I worry you got mauled by Treestar, and now you're _trying_ to get yourself killed?" That same intense look of worry was plastered on Spruceclaw's face, and Redheart thought she was about to faint from pacing.

"Look, we're here, and you're coming with us." Redheart said bluntly.

"What?!" Spruceclaw exclaimed before slapping her paws over her mouth. Birchstripe stirred but dropped his head back onto his paws.

"Come on!" Redheart's tone was edging into exasperation. Spruceclaw walked over nervously, and with Redheart and Blossomheart, was hauled safely out of the den. Icypool fluffed her pelt.

"Whew, now that that's over-"

"Woah, SkyClan warriors! That's totally cool!" All 4 cats head snapped to see a young white kit hopping on his paws. "Can I have your-"

"Intruders!" A queen screeched as she caught up to her kit. Blossomheart spat curses as Redheart's ears shot up in alarm.

"Run for it!" Redheart yowled, spinning around and breaking into a sprint. As she heard the angry mews of cats behind her. She looked back to see if everyone was with her, then kept on running. Darting for the SkyClan border, she noticed Spruceclaw slowly passing her.

"Spruceclaw, wha-"

"IT'S FEAR THAT'S DRIVING ME." She yelled before dashing into some bushes. It confused Redheart for a moment until she realized she'd just lead them back to camp. Swerving, she dove into a bramble thicket. Peeking out, she saw the confused looks on the rogues' faces. Their leader, a scrawy ShadowClan tom, looked just as perplexed. Sniffing around, he decided that they'd simply let her get into a tree fast enough, which made Redheart slap a paw on her nose as she realized that would've been a better plan instead of all these thorns in her pelt. As soon as the rogues were far out of sight, Redheart dragged herself out of the thicket, shaking herself of thorns before preparing to run again when a large white shape slammed into her. She tried feebly to get through the thick pelt before the fur was raised off her nose. Gasping for breath, she stared directly into the face of Cloudstar.

"What do you want, traitor?" Redheart hissed.

"Now now, let's not throw around words we don't know how to use." Cloudstar purred. Redheart slashed him on the nose, the big tom reeling in pain.

"Tch, foolish kit. All will become clear in due time." Cloudstar sneered.

"What about your clanmates? Why should they suffer because of your alliance?" Redheart challenged him.

"My clanmates know how to take care of themselves, they can survive." Turning tail, the ShadowClan leader rushed back to camp. Leaving Redheart confused. Suddenly, an image flashed in her eyes, and Redheart was reminded of her vision of a cloud above the horseplace. It confused her, every time she'd thought of or seen the ShadowClan leader, the image returned to her. This couldn't be a concidence, she thought. She'd have to investigate the horseplace, and soon.

"Leafheart!" Redheart yowled as she barreled into camp. All the attention was on her (and she was relieved to see Spruceclaw among the ranks), and Leafheart padded out of her den and faced the young warrior.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to the horseplace. My vision… uh, it makes sense now!" The whole group gasped as Leafheart dipped her head in thought. Everyone was silent, then Leafheart spoke.

"You may go, but be careful, my daughter." She said, her voice as calm as a leader's.

"Thank you, I won't let you down." Redheart was about to head off when Grayfeather barged in front of her.

"What? What do you-"

"I'm coming with you." Grayfeather stated.

"This is only for me-"

"I don't care!" He shouted. "I'm not letting you run off and risk getting hurt. I'm coming with you." Redheart glared at him before softening her gaze.

"Are you sure? It's dangerous."

"Trust me, I've never been surer." The two cats looked each other in the eyes for a moment, before Redheart nodded.

"Then let's get moving." She ran towards the enterance and towards the hills for the horseplace. Grayfeather following her pace for pace.

And now, she felt a surge of confidence with him by her side.


	16. Chapter 15

The two warriors bounded past the edge of the lake, the sun's light slowly dying as they went by. Redheart paused to look at the sun's reflection in the water, then shook her head. This wasn't time for sightseeing, this was a mission. Skirting ThunderClan territory (and getting yelled at by a stray ThunderClan border patrol), Redheart and Grayfeather hopped lightly over the stream to WindClan territory.

"Come on! If we're fast enough we can make it across the territory and nobody will know!" Redheart called to Grayfeather.

"Are you sure? They're thorough about their territory here!" Grayfeather replied.

"Oh please it's not like-" A loud yowl sounded out, and the pair stopped dead in their tracks as a small patrol ran up to them, led by Slowstar no less.

"…they're patrolling now…" Redheart mewed weakly. She braced for the leader to approach them and either demand what they were doing, or force them off the territory. Both cats were surprised when Slowstar bounded up, almost excited to see them.

"Hey! You're that, uh… that Redpaw cat, right?" He asked.

"It's Redheart." She replied tentatively.

"Oh yeah, right. So what are you doing here? Not spying I hope." The tom tipped his head curiously.

"Well, we're uh-"

"We're on a mission." Grayfeather cut her off, and Redheart shot him a quick glare. They shouldn't be secretive with another clan leader.

"Ooooh, a mission! How exciting!" Slowstar hopped on his paws. "Can I know?"

"Erm, well, it might be problematic-"

"No it won't!" Slowstar leaned in. "I promise I won't tell." He whispered.

"There's no use in keeping it from him." Redheart said. "He'll keep pleading until we spill it." She turned her head to Slowstar. "We're going to investigate the horseplace, I had a vision and-"

"A Vision?! Wow, you must be a… a special cat!" Slowstar exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with excitement as both mission cats sighed.

"Well, since you basically told every cat from here to the forest what we're doing…" Redheart said, slightly annoyed. "Could we ask you a few questions?"

"Oh sure! My favorite prey is rabbit, and-"

"Not those kind of questions." Grayfeather cut in. The leader looked at Grayfeather for a second, then turned and hung his head in embarrassment. He straightened up and turned to the pair.

"Alright, ask away."

"How's Cloudstar been treating you?" Redheart questioned.

"Hmm… surprisingly nice. I think he's had a change of heart. Allying himself with Treestar though, I think is probably a bad idea? I-" He abruptly stopped as he seemed to realize something. "O-Oh, he's your father right? I'm-"

"That cat is no father of mine." Redheart said. "Thank you for answering me. How has your clan been?"

"Well, it's been a bit chaotic lately with-"

"SkyClan cats! Attack!" Redheart felt a small weight settle on her shoulders. Grunting, she shook to dislodge it. The attacker felt to the ground with a squeak, but quickly got back to their feet and scurried in front of her.

"Intruder! Territory-stealer!" Redheart's attacker was a small splotchy kit, who proceed to pounce and gnaw on her leg.

"Smallkit! You stop attacking her right now!" Another splotchy cat came up, this time a queen however, and she looked rather pained.

"Are you her mother?" Grayfeather glanced awkwardly from kit to queen. He then looked to Redheart, who stood with a stone-cold face staring ahead.

"Hey Red, you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said. The queen quickly dashed over and scooped up Smallkit, setting her down in front of her a few moments later.

"What in StarClan's name are you doing?! You are NOT supposed to be out of camp!" She shouted.

"But moooom…" Smallkit whined.

"Don't mom me! I try to keep you under control _one_ time and-"

"Now now, don't get onto the young one, she was just curious." A large blue-gray she-cat padded up. Redheart was about to snap at the cat when a familiar scent hit her nose.

"RiverClan scent? But that means…" Surprise registered in her mind as she realized who it was.

"Bluestar? What are you doing here?" Redheart asked, confused.

"It's... a bit of an issue. Right now though, Splashfur, take the young one back to the camp." Splashfur nodded and scooped up the young kit, who complained while Splashfur carried her back.

"Do you have time to come to the camp? I know you're on a mission after all." She shot an amused glance towards Slowstar, who immediately shrunk back, embarrassed.

* * *

Back in the WindClan camp, Redheart noticed clumps of RiverClan and WindClan cats, some sitting to themselves, and some in group talking like old friends. It was… surprising, to say the least. Slowstar guided the group to the small den in the ground, rambling about various WindClan details and important figures.

"...and this is my den, we recently dug it out as a way for some private meetings but I like to keep everything public. Shouldn't be any secrets, that's one of my rules." Slowstar said.

"Yes... yes, you've said that multiple times." Grayfeather sighed as they entered into the hole.

"So, what this issue?" Redheart asked, facing the RiverClan leader.

"We've… had to leave our territory, out of fear from Treestar and his newly acquired band of rogues." Bluestar licked her chest, almost embarrassed to tell the tale.

"Surely he doesn't have that much power now?" Redheart questioned.

"Unfortunately so, ever since he roped ShadowClan into it. We've got a few deserters though." Bluestar said.

"So do we." Grayfeather said. "It's just plain crazy what he's doing."

"He wants to eradicate ThunderClan, I can imagine he would've got to these extremes with or without his clan." Bluestar sighed before speaking again. "I don't know what's gotten into Cloudstar."

"Speaking of that…" Redheart began. "How's he been to you?"

"Eh? Nice I suppose, unlike himself really." Bluestar tipped her head curiously. "Why?"

"Just a question I had. I think it's time we go Grayfeather. We need to get to the Horseplace." Redheart turned to head out but Bluestar intercepted her.

"Hold on. Tell us what's going on." She asked, her tone a bit more leader-like than the friendler one she had earlier.

"Yeah, it could be beneficial to the clans." Slowstar chimed in. Redheart looked quickly to Grayfeather, hoping for an answer. Grayfeather looked at her for a bit before shrugging his shoulders, and Redheart let out an annoyed sigh before facing both leaders.

"I have a hunch based on a vision I had." She said. "I think that for whatever reason, Cloudstar is at the Horseplace."

"What for? He doesn't just take trips there, and he didn't even say hello to me!" Slowstar pouted.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Redheart said.

"Well you won't go without me. I'd like to solve this mystery myself before Treestar does anything." Bluestar declared, flexing her claws.

"I… I have a feeling Treestar will launch a battle soon. I'd love to come along but I think I should stay here if he does." Slowstar shifted his paws, worried.

"I… didn't consider that." Redheart murmured. "Anyway, we need to go, and you're welcome to come Bluestar."

"You bet I will. Slowstar, if he does attack, please assist ThunderClan and SkyClan. I hand my clan over to your paws." She said.

"I'll take good care of them!" Slowstar puffed out his chest proudly, before he realized what odd stares he was getting and stopped.

"Let's hit it then!" Grayfeather said, determination in his voice. The three cats dashed out, heading for the horseplace. There was definitely a mystery here, and Redheart was going to uncover it no matter what.


	17. Chapter 16

The trio of cats sped for the horseplace, their paws thrumming a steady beat on the earth. Reaching the horseplace border, Redheart took a flying leap through the gap, while Grayfeather and Bluestar skimmed under. She landed beside Grayfeather a moment later.

"Stylish." He commented, flashing her an impressed glance.

"You mean dangerous." Bluestar put in before powering ahead. A small building lay to the side, and Redheart caught the faintest scent of cats.

"Over there!" She called, before swerving towards the building. As the three ran up, a small red cat popped out.

"Hello." The cat mewed. His voice was deep for his size, Redheart thought.

"I'm Zero." He said. "Your names?"

"I'm Redheart, this is Grayfeather, and that's Bluestar." Pointing her tail to each of them.

"So… Clan cats, yeah?" Zero said. Redheart pricked her ears curiously.

"Yeah… but how do you know that? We never told you." Redheart stated.

"Erm… lucky guess?" Zero replied, his tail twitching.

"So then, do you know any clan cats in particular?" She asked.

"M-Maybe." The small cat looked nervous now.

"Come on, surely you've got a name?" Redheart pressed.

"Um… Clou-" He cut off abruptly as Redheart smirked at him.

"Gotcha." She said calmly.

"What do you mean?"

"Cloudstar, I assume is what you were saying, lives too far away to come here, and he'd never visit a horseplace. So my only question is… where are you hiding him?"

"Ah… um… well... BOYS, WE GOT COMPANY!" Zero screeched before darting back into the building.

"After him!" Redheart yowled, sprinting forward for the entrance. The three skidded in and rounded the corner, before coming face to face with a large group of cats.

"Didn't think this one through did you, mouse-brain!" Zero sneered. Letting out a yowl, the wall of cats moved in.

"There's so many of them!" Grayfeather gasped.

"Do you have a plan?" Redheart asked Bluestar.

"Just go get Cloudstar! I've got lives to spare!" Letting out a screech, Bluestar lunged for the first cat she saw, and drowned in a swarm of rogues.

Redheart and Grayfeather pressed through the crowd, clawing and biting at any rogue. They were almost to the other side of the building when a large tan cat tackled Redheart.

"So you're the one snooping around causing problems. Don't worry, I'll make your end painless!" The cat almost landed a claw on Redheart's throat before she wormed herself under the rogue and slipped out, facing him.

"A fighter eh? Okay, bring it on!" He lunged for her, but Redheart sidestepped out of the way and raked his side. The tom let out a yowl and slammed his paw into her head, knocking her sideways. Rolling from the impact, she jumped back up and threw herself at the tom, barreling into him. The two tumbled and Redheart thought she had the advantage over him, until the rogue slapped his paw into her nose. Redheart yelped and reeled back, enough for the rogue to flip her over and stand over her again.

"Stupid, you shouldn't have prevented the inevitable." He raised his paw again, and Redheart braced for impact, but suddenly the weight was thrown off of her. Opening her eyes, she saw a matted shape dueling the tom.

"Cloudstar?!" Redheart said in surprise. The leader grunted and with a strong whap to the head, the rogue went down.

"Hmph, pathetic." He growled, before turning to the red she-cat. "You should probably get up before they come get you." Redheart barely got out a 'thank you' before Cloudstar threw himself into the fray. Spinning around, she caught sight of Grayfeather battling with a similar gray tom.

"What's the matter, kitty? Getting trounced?" The cat sneered.

"Why you!" Grayfeather snarled, locking his claws in the side of the tom. The tom screeched as Grayfeather slammed his head into the ground before springing back. The cat got up, dazed, and before Grayfeather could continue his assault, a bulky yellow tom stepped in.

"Nobody messes with my brother." He said bluntly. Redheart saw Grayfeather's eye flash, before a glimmer appeared in them. Slipping under the tom and sprinting, Grayfeather threw himself into a stack of large stack began to wobble, and Redheart dashed over and checked on the now clearly pained cat.

"What are you doing?!" She demanded angrily.

"Don't worry about it! Just help me and the others drive these rogues over here!" Grayfeather ordered. Redheart nodded quickly and jumped in. The four cats formed a wall and began to drive the large group back. Suddenly Grayfeather knocked a small cat into the stack. The force of the cat knocking into the stones caused a larger wobble, and the ground shook as the stack came tumbling down. Cats screeched and ran for their lives as it tumbled down. Dust clouded the air and Redheart lost sight of Grayfeather. When it settled, she saw Bluestar assisting an ill Cloudstar from falling over. But she didn't see Grayfeather.

"Gray… Grayfeather? GRAYFEATHER!" Redheart wailed, jumping onto the ruins and searching frantically through the rubble. Panic filled her entire body as she couldn't find his. No, no, this wasn't happening. This isn't happening. She couldn't have let him get killed, Dovetail didn't want this to happen, SHE didn't want this to happen. Darkness filled her vision as she realized he was crushed under the rubble...

Until a cough rang out.

"Yeesh, that was a little rougher than I expected." Grayfeather coughed. Redheart stood in pure shock, he was… alive. She breathed a sigh of relief and began to pad over when Bluestar rushed over and began yelling at the young tom.

"What do you think you were doing?! Such a stupid act, you could've died! I was worried sick about you!" She thundered. Grayfeather cringed away.

"But… I'm glad you're safe." Bluestar said.

"Thanks…" Grayfeather mewed and slunk over to Redheart. "She sounds like my mother…"

"Well, it's a good thing she yelled at you, I was going to as well… and I'm still mad!" She slapped Grayfeather across the face, as the tom gave a sharp "ow!". Cloudstar gave a rusty purr from behind them.

"It's something you get used to." He mewed, before walking off to talk with Bluestar.

"I'm… still happy you're okay." Redheart said, ducking her head. Grayfeather gave her a quick lick on the ear, causing Redheart to jump in shock.

"It's alright. But now that we've found Cloudstar, what next?"

"We go back, but first…" Redheart flicked her ears towards a lump of fur hobbling towards the entrance to the den. Redheart walked over and with a soft butt of her head, the cat fell over.

"Zero." Redheart said icily. The tom snarled at her.

"Feh, what do you want?" He growled.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to do this." She bit into his injured leg and twisted it, the tom screaming in pain. She released her grip and the tom sprang up and hobbled away. Redheart watched him disappear over the hill before turning back to her group.

"Now what?" She asked. Grayfeather and Bluestar looked at each other confused. Cloudstar was too until a spark lit in his eyes.

"Oh no…"

"What?" Redheart tipped her head.

"Of course, this was his plan!" He hissed. "He had this planned from the very beginning!"

"What is it?" Redheart was even more confused.

"He kitnapped me to lure you and Grayfeather away, and by chance I suppose, drew a clan leader into the mix. He's most likely began his attack!" Cloudstar said, his eyes burning deep with anger.

"Then… let's get moving! There's no time to waste!" Redheart spun around and began running, the others trying to keep pace. She had to get back, to her sister, to her mother, and to her clan.

* * *

Leafheart's POV

* * *

Leafheart stared across the clearing. Cats stood ready and waiting. Treestar looked at her with pure contempt. She looked to Duststar and Slowstar.

"Are you two ready?" She asked.

"As I'll ever be." Duststar mewed evenly.

"I-I'll try my best!" Slowstar stammered.

"Then… My Clan! WindClan! ThunderClan! Attack!" Leafheart shouted. The clearing erupted into chaos, cat locking and tussling with each other. Fighting a few cats herself, she turned her attention to the large stump in the clearing. Standing atop it…

Was Treestar.

"This is it." Leafheart thought. "This… This is where I settle things, once and for all."


	18. Chapter 17

Leafheart's POV

* * *

Leafheart raced towards Treestar, claws outstretched, when a large bundle of fur rolled into her path. Unable to swerve around it in time, she crashed into the tangle of claws and fur. The two cats seperated, and Leafheart could see a battered ThunderClan she-cat standing off with a rogue. The she-cat looked quickly to see who ran into her, a faint sigh of relief crossing her face once she recognized who it was.

"Ah, thank goodness, a true SkyClan warrior. Help me out will ya?" she said.

"You got it." Leafheart replied. The rogue snarled something incoherent at them, then leaped. Leafheart dashed under him while the ThunderClan warrior met him head on. Clawing his belly and scratching his face, the rogue reared back in pain and fled among the swarm of cats.

"Hey, you're pretty good." Leafheart complimented the panting warrior.

"Not too bad yourself." She said back.

"Palenose! Palenose! Where are you?!" A tom's voice sounded out amongst the cats.

"Over here!" Palenose called. The tom spotted them and ran over quickly, nuzzling Palenose.

"Thank goodness, I thought you were hurt!" He said. The she-cat purred.

"No Cardinalwing, I'm fine, honestly." Palenose said.

"Ahem." Leafheart cut in. "If you didn't know, there's a battle going on."

"Oh, yes." Cardinalwing said. "Thank you for rescuing my mate."

"It's nothing." Leafheart nodded and ran back in to confront Treestar, noting how familiar the two cats looked, but now was not the time to dwell on it. Charging forward, she leaped for the stump he was still sitting atop. She landed with a snarl as Treestar idly looked over in her direction.

"You're still kicking?" He said boredly.

"Enough to kick your tail all the way to RiverClan." Leafheart hissed. Treestar let out a snort.

"Heh, always one with the humor, I always liked that about you." He said, looking back to the trees.

"Say it to my face, coward!" Leafheart challenged.

"Ha ha, if you insist." Treestar swung around and looked Leafheart dead in the eyes. Leafheart recoiled in shock as part of the leader's face was bare skin, blood oozing out of miscellaneous scars. There was a look in his eye that seemed like pure… insanity.

"You... You've gone mad!" Leafheart gasped.

"Heheheheh, you noticed." Treestar laughed, a sick twist in it. "But I'm not crazy enough, I still know that I'm going to rip you LIMB FROM LIMB!" Treestar let out a cry of pure rage and launched at Leafheart. She tumbled and rolled with him. Trying to get some cheap blows in, Treestar battered at her face, vainly trying to score some damage on her. Leafheat deflected his blows easily, worming herself out of his way and springing back up to face him once more.

"Can't fight properly?" Leafheart hissed.

"Properly? I was hoping to end you early, but I can see that won't be possible!" Treestar yet again leaped for her, this time catching the side of her face, raking his claws across it. Leafheart yowled in pain, twisting to claw his face. The leader roared, and the pair fought back and forth, no advantage showing until Treestar caught her off-balance and pinned her to the stump. Leafheart struggled to get free of his grasp, but it was useless.

"I'm surprised you lasted this long, it's actually quite… attractive." He mewed sinisterly.

"Oh shut up!" Leafheart snapped. Freeing one leg, she reached up and sliced Treestar's chest. Treestar hissed and almost released her, but his grip became tighter. Looking down at Leafheart, his mocking gleam in his eyes turned to pure rage.

"Fine, then this is where you DIE LEAFHEART!" Treestar raised his claws high, and Leafheart closed her eyes as she accepted her inevitable death.

"My only wish is that you will end this, my daughter…" Leafheart thought.

"Back off, mange-pelt!" A strained, but still strong voice, yelled. Treestar was shoved aside as Duststar crashed into him. Treestar snarled as he recognized him.

"Duststar! You've always been a thorn in my side!" Treestar growled.

"I'll continue being a thorn as long as your insanity reigns!" Duststar spat.

"Very well, I'LL END YOU AS WELL!" Treestar screeched and dove for the ThunderClan leader. A distance thrumming of paws caught Leafheart's attention, and she swung her head to see a group of cats burst through the trees. Crawling to the edge, she thought with a huge deal of relief.

"I knew you could do it." She thought, a spark of hope spreading through her body.

* * *

Redheart's POV

* * *

Redheart raced into the clearing, cats scraping and clawing each other. The stump was a long ways off the clearing. Treestar and Dustar fighting atop it.

"What are you going to do?" Grayfeather called.

"I'm going to confront Treestar!" Redheart replied.

"Before that." Cloudstar walked coolly up. Behind him, Bluestar was dragging a white tom similar to Cloudstar. "I have something to do." The tom spat at Cloudstar.

"You fool, I was the real Cloudstar! I am the real Cloudstar! You have no right to strip this away from me!"

"Pah, how pathetic." Cloudstar sniffed. "If you want to be me…" A claw slashed through the tom's chest.

"Learn how to act like me." The tom fell dead to the ground, a few cats alarmed but still fighting.

"Now, Redheart. Go, and win this!"

"You can do it! Go go go!" Grayfeather chanted.

"Thanks you two." She nodded to Bluestar, who gave her an approving look. Turning, she plunged into the crowd. Before she was halfway, she noticed Spruceclaw fighting with two rogues.

"She needs help!" Redheart thought. Sprinting over, she knocked one over, and slashed the other.

"Eh? Who- Redheart!" Spruceclaw mewed happily. "You're her-"

"Step aside, Redrunt!" A booming voice sounded before she was knocked to the side. Oakpelt snarled at her before turning to his sibling.

"Sister, sister. You couldn't even take the chance to kill her. You're pathetic, you know that?"  
Spruceclaw looked at him, a cold glare in her eyes.

"It's sad, you could've been great. I, Oakpelt, leader of SkyClan. Birchstripe, leader of ShadowClan. And you, leader of ThunderClan, the worst one." He smirked as he said it. "You could've made it great again. Like the glory days we heard about."

"I want nothing to do with your plans." Spruceclaw mewed.

"What a shame. Your heart is your weakness, and it'll be a pleasure killing yo- !?" Oakpelt was cut off mid-sentence, blood welling at his throat.

"Shut. Up." Spruceclaw walked coldly by his body as it fell to the ground. She looked over to Redheart.

"Win this for us, so we can get scum like him away from the lake." Redheart dipped her head.

"You have my word." She dashed off again, but was stopped by the sight of Birchstripe. A black she-cat faced him, her back arched and hissing at him. Recognizing her as Blossomheart, she looked up to Treestar and Duststar, the ThunderClan leader seeming to hold his own. Edging through, she ducked a few swipes and got closer to see what was going on.

"You tried to ABUSE me!" Blossomheart screeched.

"I did no such thing! You wouldn't accept my love!" Birchstripe sounded almost heartbroken, but his eyes betrayed the malice in them.

"I don't WANT your love!"

"Aw, come on, don't you want me?" Birchstripe wound around Blossomheart, purring.

"Get. Away. From me." Blossomheart threatened.

"What are you going to do? We're going to have wonderful kits you know."

"THAT'S IT!" Spinning around, she tackled the tom and forced him on his stomach. Screeching with rage, she tore her claws into his eyes, scraping them till they were nearly gone. Birchstripe screamed all the way through, and now he was a whimpering pile of fur. Blossomheart gave him a sharp kick in the hindquarters.

"Now LEAVE." The tom got up and fled, whining and crying off into the distance. Blossomheart began to lick the blood off her claws before noticing Redheart.

"Oh, you saw that?" She asked.

"...Yeah. Impressive though." Redheart responded.

"Thanks, now. I'm going to tear up another cat who crosses me!" Blossomheart launched back into the battle. Redheart finally ran straight for the stump. She would try and end this, now. Leaping up, she noticed her mother crawling off the stump. Before Redheart could assist her, Treestar threw Duststar aside, facing the red cat.

"Redheart! You deceptive mongrel!" He hissed.

"Treestar, it ends here! Let me ask you a few questions-"

"I have nothing to do with Cloudstar's disappearance! NOTHING!" He snarled.

"It's not to do with Cloudstar, rather…"

"Flarestar."

The entire clearing became dead silent as the name rippled through the crowd.

"Wha… What did you say?" Treestar's eye was twitching, confusion and rage among it.

"What do you know about Flarestar's death?" Redheart asked.

"A cut to the neck, if I remember the news. Poor thing, those berries and a mere scratch killed him." Treestar gave Redheart a wicked smirk.

"Treestar, I'm afraid there's two problems with that." Redheart said.

"What?!"

"First, Flarestar's cause of death never came out, and second, you mean deathberries?"

"Tell me…" Redheart pointed her paw accusingly. "How did you know he died by poisoning?!"  
The crowd murmured. Treestar hissed for silence.

"I'm a leader, I could very well have heard from anyone! You've proved nothing!"

"Then there's something I should show you." Redheart said.

"I always knew something was off about this." She shook the leaf out from behind her ear.

"A leaf? Are you finally snapping?" Treestar sniffed.

"Tell me, what is this red stain?"

"A stain, that means absolutely nothing."

"Then lick it." Treestar recoiled in shock.

"WHAT?!"

"If it's just a stain, then it shouldn't hurt you, right? Come now, prove it means nothing!"

"Ngggh…." Treestar hesitated. "You may have a point it could be deathberries, but let me ask you this!"

"What?" Redheart said, wary of what the leader was about to say.

"What relevance is that leaf?"

"Huh?!"

"Maybe it had deathberries, key word being HAD. You have no way to prove it has relevance."

"No…. No! This isn't happening!" Redheart thought. "Did… Did I not put enough thought into it?"

"Hah, I knew it. It means nothing. You're trying to tie me to Flarestar's demise? You're going to have to try a bit harder." Treestar turned, about to pounce on Duststar below.

"Redheart…" Redheart turned her head, gasping.

"B-Bluestar?" The leader looked quite different in the moonlight, it seemed.

"The evidence is right before you, examine it once more. Find the clues!"

"O… Okay!" Turning back to the leaf, she bent down to examine it.

"What… are you doing?" Treestar wrinkled his nose in confusion. Redheart ignored him, examine the leaf closely. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but she studied the stain harder. A small green part of the leaf showed through. It was oddly shaped, a jagged line going through it, like… like a cut.

"Treestar, show me your pads."

"Huh?!"

"Show me your pads. If my theory is correct…" She pointed her paw at him again. "There should be a cut in one of them, right?!"

"I… I refuse!" Treestar growled, slamming him paws down on the rotten stump.

"But… But refusing means…!" A voice called.

"You acknowledge there IS a cut in your pad!"

"Treestar killed Flarestar!"

"How awful!"

"What's going on in his head?!"

"SILENCE!" He bellowed. He swung his head to Redheart, who smirked.

"Looks like you've turned half your followers against you." She said. "High tide has come in, and you've been washed away!"

"Grrrgh, ngggh, Redheart! REDHEART!" Treestar shouted. "You…. YOU!... I'll- Wait, ha. Haha. Hahaha. Hahahahahahhaha." The leader began laughing.

"What's so funny?!" Redheart demanded.

"Foolish kit, you may have proved I killed that wretched leader, but that's all you did. I can just kill you, and walk away. These cats FEAR me. I will still have power. If you want to say someone's been washed away.. Look at yourself!" (Play Suspense)

"N...Noooo! It didn't do anything!" Redheart thought in horror.

"Now, I'm going to do what I should've done when I found you." His claws glinted with blood, Redheart prepared to defend herself.

"NO!"

Treestar whirled around to see Duststar flying at his face. The ThunderClan leader smashed straight into his face, sending both tumbling. They rolled until to everyone's shock, the ground gave away in a neat hole. Cats crowded around, Redheart shoving her way near. A cat suddenly appeared beside her.

"It's… over, then? Surely no cat could survive that fall?"

"Firecloud? No, I don't think. It's done. Duststar and Treestar are… dead." Cats began to walk away in shock and confusion. Redheart turned herself, did it really end like this?

"Ha."

One paw pulled itself over the rim of the hole, Redheart watched, a sinking feeling as another paw pulled itself over, and then she was filled with horror, as the twisted, damaged face of Treestar appreared.

"But… How?! You… You're dead!" Leafheart, who had been propped up on Firecloud's shoulder, gasped.

"Fool! Don't you know? Leaders have lives, and it just so happens I had one to spare."

"So, you only have one life left then?"

"Why don't you ask her, she's the medicine cat after all. I'm sure she has ALL the answers." He gave his sister a sickly sweet look.

"I…" Firecloud began.

"F-Firecloud?" Redheart dreaded her next words.

"I don't know... " Treestar let out a wild laugh.

"Ha! I knew it! You're good for nothing, Firecloud!" He walked over to her, slicing her nose. Firecloud flinched, the first time she'd seen the medicine cat accept pain.

"Stop it!" Redheart cried, catching the leader's attention. "Treestar, you! You monster! I'll… I'll…"

"You'll do what?! Face it runt, you're NOTHING! You can't stop me!"

"I… can't?" Redheart dipped her head. She thought of all the cats she'd lost, and all the ones fighting to keep their lives now. She looked back up, staring Treestar dead in the eye.

"I… I can, and I will. Treestar!" She slammed her paws on the ground. "I will defeat you!"

"I'd like to see you try! If you want to face me…"

"... you'll have to catch me!" Spinning around, Treestar raced off.

"Where's he going?!" Redheart meowed.

"There's something flat in the air!" A ThunderClan cat called. "He's going there for safety I'd bet!"

"So he wants to fight me there, then? Very well." Redheart turned to her injuried mother. "Oversee this battle here for me please. I hope you'll be okay."

"All I want is to see you come back safe." Leafheart mewed. "Please."

"I will." She touched her nose to hers. Redheart then looked across the crowd. Aside from some fighting cats, most of them were clan cats.

"Go win it for us." Cloudstar said.

"I believe in you." Bluestar added.

"You've got enough strength to beat him ten times over." Pigeonwing mewed.

"WindClan is rooting for you!" Slowstar chimed in.

"Show him what you're made of." Firecloud said, dipping her head in respect.

"I'll be with you in spirit, Red." Grayfeather said, his eyes gleaming with tears.

"You all… thank you, I will win this, for all the clans! For the lake!" Cheers erupted among the cats, and Redheart went in full pursuit of Treestar.

"You won't get away with things this time, Treestar." Redheart thought.

"There will be one winner: Me, or you."


	19. Finale

Redheart bounded through the trees, catching Treestar's tail fly behind him as she pursued him.

"Come on, where are you going you coward?!" Redheart thought. The leader kept a good pace, but Redheart was slightly faster than the massive leader, gaining ground slowly but surely. He was in her sights until he swerved right sharply. Confusion clouded her mind until a sharp kick to the side flung her out of her thoughts.

"Should've expect that, mouse-brain!" Treestar jeered as he took off once more.

"That rat!" Redheart hissed and scrambled up off the ground, anger surging through her and giving her energy. He certainly wasn't making it easy, hopping over every stream and hole to make sure she tripped up, but she kept pace all the way. They then crossed the the ThunderClan border. The SkyClan leader stopped for a moment and let out a short hiss as he realized he was still being tailed. Treestar leaped off the ground, clawing his way up a nearby tree. Redheart took a leap herself and starting ascending.

"Looks like he's taking this battle to the skies." Redheart thought with a slight hint of nervousness.

She finally jumped off the tree onto a small wooden area a good ways off the ground. Looking up, she saw Treestar staring at her.

"So you made it, good job." He said.

"Don't compliment me, you fox-heart." Redheart spat back.

"It's funny," Treestar began. "To think I took you in as a kit to deprive ThunderClan of warriors, and here you are now, helping them from SkyClan."

"You killed cats! You're nothing but a sick murderer!" Redheart shouted.

"That was the only decision I ever regretted." He mewed calmly. "I should have just left you to die. But no matter, this decision I will not regret."

"Which is?" Redheart asked warily.

"It's time for you to die." Treestar said calmly.

"So this is how you want it to end?" Redheart asked.

"I said, it's time for you…" Treestar lunged at Redheart, claws outstretched.

"TO DIE!"

Redheart braced as the leader slammed into her. Claws out herself, she swiped at the leader's face before springing off of him and landing hard. The place she was standing on wobbled violently, and she barely had enough time to regain her balance. She took a quick look at where she would've fallen, a large sharp spike pointed out of the side.

"Wouldn't want to fall on that." She thought to herself, before the roar of the SkyClan leader stole her attention. Treestar rushed towards her, Redheart dodging nimbly before something caught her tail. She swung her head around to see Treestar's teeth embedded firmly in the tip, before she could swipe, Treestar bit down hard, sending waves of pain through her body. The leader slammed into her.

"Too slow." Treestar jeered. Redheart hissed in annoyance and ran for the leader herself, pouncing on his back and began to shred him. Treestar roared and reared, dropping Redheart back down to the floor, but the leader hesitated. Redheart took advantage of it and jumped back up, but before she could move the leader shoved her back, before running at her and knocking her into the tree the platform was attached to. She was dazed, and in a matter of moments Treestar had his paw on her neck, pinning her against it.

"Pathetic." Treestar snarled. "This is SkyClan's best warrior? Pah! You weren't even good enough to become an apprentice!"

"Ugh… let me go!" Redheart croaked, the pressure becoming more severe on her neck.

"Heh, does it hurt? Let me try this then." Treestar slowly digging his claws in. Blood began to well up, and Redheart could only grunt in pain.

"You've got two options, you little rat. You can go free and leave the lake, or you can fight, though…" Treestar's eyes gleamed wickedly. "I don't think you're in a position to do that."

Redheart glared at the leader, but he was right, she couldn't do anything, not like this. Was this it? All that for nothing? No, no it couldn't. In the name of StarClan, she'd beat him! But… how?

"Size… does… matter…" A voice rang in her head.

"What the-?!"

"You've got this." A fiery pelt appeared before her eyes before it was gone in a flash. She thought about what the mysterious voice said, before thinking about her friends, her family, the fate of the clans…

"Rrragh!" Redheart gave a mighty cry, surprising Treestar. He loosened his grip for a moment, and Redheart seized her chance. Biting down on his paw, she drove the leader back, landing swift blows on him. Treestar didn't know where to look, trying to block her to no avail. A panicked gleam flashed in his eyes, and he reared up.

"This is it!" Rearing up herself, she flashed a paw out before Treestar could, a thin line of red appearing at his throat. Treestar stumbled, blood streaming from the gash in his throat. He fell back, defeated. Treestar raised his head to look at Redheart, eyes filled with rage.

"Do you think you've won? DO YOU? This battle isn't over you wretched cat. I'll come back to life, I'll build a new army, you'll see! YOU'LL SEE! AHAHAHAHA…" His head fell back as he cackled.

"That's enough!" Redheart said. She walked up to the leader, jabbing her paws into his stomach. It almost felt nice to see him in pain.

"This is for Goldenfoot!" She shouted, shifting her paws up his belly as she jabbed him.

"This is for Lightbreeze!"

"This is for Mistyeye!"

"This is for Dovetail!" She cried, giving him an extra hard jab.

"This is for Grayfeather!"

"This is for Spruceclaw!"

"This is for Firecloud!"

"This is for Leafheart!"

"This is for all the warriors you've killed!" She was nearly at his throat.

"And this..." Noticing the same sharp object she'd seen during the fight, she hooked her claws in Treestar's pelt. The leader clawed feebly at her, but it was no good. Pulling him up, she said her last words to him.

"…is for me."

She slammed her paws into his throat, the object piercing his neck. Treestar let out a bloodcurdling scream, before the light died from his eyes, and he lay dead. Redheart surveyed the limp body before her, and kicked it off the side, making a dull thump when it landed. Redheart sighed with relief. She'd won.

* * *

"Redheart!" Leafheart cried with happiness as she saw her daughter limping back, scratches and blood speckling her pelt.

"I… I did it." Redheart panted, finally feeling exhausted from the whole thing. A few cats appeared behind her, dragging Treestar's body.

"They'll be no vigil for him, he doesn't deserve one." Redheart heard Firecloud's voice, and looked just in time to see her kick her brother's dead corpse. "You did good youngster. We need more blood like that." Firecloud complimented her.

"Does this mean you'll finally get an apprentice?" Redheart teased.

"Bah, they wouldn't last!" Firecloud snorted. "But… I might consider it." She winked, and walked off to attend to injuries. Redheart turned her head to her mother.

"So who's the new ThunderClan leader?" She asked.

"That'd be me." A soft voice sounded in her ears, and Redheart saw a dainty she-cat approaching.

"Ah, Violetpoppy, you haven't been deputy long. Are you sure you're up to it?" Leafheart asked her kindly.

"As a former deputy and her mate, I think she can handle it." A stockier tom came up behind them, Redheart faintly recognizing him as Umberpelt from a gathering.

"You were a deputy once?" Redheart couldn't recall ever seeing him as a deputy.

"Well, for about a day, but yes." Umberpelt chuckled. It was nice to see some cats have spirit after the battle.

"Yes, I think I can. It'll be exciting though." Violetpoppy mewed, bouncing on her toes slightly. "Two new leaders for the clans, don't you think that's interesting?"

"Indeed." Leafheart replied. "I'm looking forward to your leadership." With that, Violetpoppy bowed her head to Leafheart, before walking off to gather her clan. Bluestar appeared a moment later, flicking an ear.

"Bah, rogues. Some put up a decent fight, some are just pathetic." She said.

"Hey, Bluestar. Thanks for the help proving Treestar killed Flarestar." Redheart thanked her, the RiverClan leader looking at her in confusion.

"But… I didn't? Must've been another cat."

"What? But I-" Redheart cut herself off as she thought about it. Maybe it had been a cat from StarClan? She truly thanked her lucky stars for that then.

"Anyway, it was good they didn't know how to fight. Wouldn't want these little ones getting hurt." She started down at her stomach. Redheart and Leafheart just gaped as they took in what she just said.

"You…"

"Were…"

"PREGNANT?!" They both exclaimed in shock. Bluestar flattened her ears, more in surprise than anything.

"Yes, since about… a moon ago."

"So… the trip to find Cloudstar, and the battle now…?"

"You'd be surprised how hard a mother fights for her kits. But I suppose…" She let out a little sigh. "I should retire from combat, at least until these kits are born. I'll see you lot later at a gathering hopefully!" With a friendly swish of her tail, she walked to round up her own clan. Redheart looked around a couple more times, hoping to see a familiar face. Moments passed, and as all the clans bunched up to leave, Redheart sighed, guessing they were gone.

"Red!" A sound unlike what she'd heard before came, and she pricked her ears in pure delight as Grayfeather rushed towards her.

"Gray!" She didn't realized she'd said half of his name before it came out but… she liked it."

"I'm so glad you're safe!" Grayfeather mewed happily, nuzzling her.

"I'm so glad you are too." Redheart nuzzled back. Finally she realized something, a feeling she'd had for a while, but hadn't picked up on. She loved him. She loved Grayfeather. The pair rested there, purring all the time they had.

* * *

"Ahem! Cats of all clans!" Cloudstar called. "This battle has proven one very decisive thing. That it is time for a wave of new leadership to grace the clans. I, Bluestar, and Slowstar are keeping our positions, but I want all the clans to welcome our new leaders of SkyClan and ThunderClan: Leafstar and Violetstar!"

"Leafstar! Violetstar! Leafstar! Violetstar!" All the cats chanted.

"I will announce Umberpelt as my deputy." Violetstar called out. All the cats cheered for Umberpelt, the tom bowing his head.

"I will now choose my new deputy." Leafstar said. "Nighteyes, will you be my deputy?" A few cats around Redheart mumbled. Nighteyes got up.

"Leafstar, I respect you as a friend and a warrior, but… the times I spent as temporary deputy during your pregnancy showed me I'm just not cut out for deputy duties. Plus, I..." Nighteyes turned his head to Mistyeye, a loving look coming into his eyes. "

I think…" Nighteyes swiveled his ears towards Redheart. "She should be the new deputy." Redheart gasped, expecting others to do the same, but a cry went up from the crowd.

"Redheart! Redheart!"

"What do you say?" Leafstar asked her.

"..."

"Go on, pull whichever way your heart tells you." Grayfeather nudged her.

"Yes… Yes, I accept the position as SkyClan deputy." Redheart said, sure of her decision. The rest of the clearing was drowned in cheers and cries, and as Redheart went to stand by her mother, she heard her say.

"I'm so proud of you, my daughter." Leafstar said, looking at her lovingly.

For the first time in her life, Redheart felt a sense of peace and belonging. The darkness had been lifted, and the blood that had stained the sky, was now clear.


End file.
